US strikes eastern Syria using banned phosphorus bombs, Russia says

The U.S.-led coalition resumed strikes targeting eastern Syria using white phosphorus munitions, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

"The Americans have resumed intensive airstrikes against terrorist-controlled settlements along the eastern bank of Euphrates, including, according to local residents, the use of white phosphorus munitions," Zakharova said.

A coalition spokesperson earlier denied the use of either cluster bombs or white phosphorus munitions in urban and civilian-populated areas of eastern Syria.

Syrian state news agency SANA claimed that the coalition used cluster munitions while targeting the al-Sha’afa and Hajin towns. The strikes allegedly caused civilian casualties.

The same agency stated that the coalition also used white phosphorus while striking Hajin earlier in the month.

The 1977 First Additional Protocol to the 1949 Geneva Conventions bans the use of white phosphorus munitions.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million others were displaced, according to UN officials.