Canada
Practice Relating to Rule 13. Area Bombardment
Canada’s LOAC Manual (1999) gives the following as an example of an indiscriminate attack and, as such, prohibited:
An attack by bombardment by any methods or means which treats as a single legitimate target a number of clearly separated and distinct legitimate targets located in a city, town, village or other area containing a similar concentration of civilians or civilian objects.
Canada’s LOAC Manual (2001) states in its chapter on targeting:
1. Indiscriminate attacks are those that may strike legitimate targets and civilians or civilian objects without distinction. They are prohibited …
2. The following are examples of indiscriminate attacks:
a. an attack by bombardment by any methods or means which treats as a single legitimate target a number of clearly separated and distinct legitimate targets located in a city, town, village or other area containing a similar concentration of civilians or civilian objects.
In its chapter on land warfare, the manual states:
The bombardment of any legitimate target must not be “indiscriminate.” It is prohibited to carry out an attack by bombardment by any means (aircraft, artillery, mortars, naval fire, missiles, etc.) that treats as a single legitimate target a number of clearly separated and distinct legitimate targets in an urban area or an area containing a similar concentration of civilians or civilian objects.
In its chapter on naval warfare, the manual states:
1. The bombardment of any legitimate target must not be “indiscriminate”. It is prohibited to carry out an attack by bombardment by any means (such as aircraft, naval fire and missiles) that treats as a single legitimate target a number of clearly separated and distinct legitimate targets in an urban area or an area containing a similar concentration of civilians or civilian objects.
2. This prohibition applies to shore bombardments by naval forces. In this respect, “shore bombardments” include bombardments from both ships and aircraft.
At the CDDH, Canada stated that it supported the comments made by the United States (see
infra).