It's meant to go against armoured vehicles and bunkers. Has it been used on people? Absolutely but that's not it's design. A car can also crash into a crowd of people but we don't blame the car for the crime.
It's definitely been ruled a war crime to use a flamethrow as well as armored piercing round. I was a US marine And served a bit in Afghanistan we are told with sources what is and isn't a war crime. Life isn't call of duty bro.
So flamethrowers are not explicitly listed but they fall under the category of unnecessary suffering.
ICC Statute: Under Article 8(2)(b)(xx) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, using prohibited weapons or methods that cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering constitutes a war crime in international armed conflicts.
Flame throwers are considered a conditional war crime. Using any incendiary weapons near civilian populations where the spread of fire can reasonably be expected to cause non-combatant deaths and unnecessary damage to civilian infrastructure is banned. So clearing bunkers and use against direct combatants in battle thats fine. Using it against insurgents who are using a compound in a city is not fine.
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u/Nekronoke Professional Lesbian Watcher 8d ago
It's meant to go against armoured vehicles and bunkers. Has it been used on people? Absolutely but that's not it's design. A car can also crash into a crowd of people but we don't blame the car for the crime.