The cabinet has decided to suspend the use of cluster bombs by the Dutch army, foreign affairs minister Maxime Verhagen told MPs on Tuesday. But the cabinet does not want to ban cluster bombs altogether and feels they could be used in certain circumstances, Verhagen said.

Cluster bombs break up into a large number of smaller explosives which do not always detonate instantly and cause large numbers of civilian casualties. Verhagen said the cabinet has decided to impose the moratorium because of the current international debate on the use of cluster bombs.