Islamic Law

Islamic Law

The challenge of enforcing the legal norms governing armed conflict in the field of tunnels warfare

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Seyyed Fazlollah Mousavi 1
Amir Lohrasbi 2
1 Professor, Public Law Department, Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
2 MA. in International Law, Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, University of Tehran
10.22034/ilaw.2024.554337.3024
Abstract
One of the innovations of war has been the digging and construction of tunnels warfare so that weak governmental and non-governmental armed groups can limit the enemies' military and weapons capability by directing enemies into the dark place. Soldiers, meanwhile, face a wide range of challenges that have raised many questions. When no soldier is aware of what is in the basement, the choice of conventional and legitimate weapons to deal with such a war is very vague, and on the other hand, the possibility of observing some basic principles of international humanitarian law is affected. This research, by analyzing descriptive sources, seeks to examine the challenges posed by underground warfare. This study concludes that military operatives need to fully confirm the nature of the target and what is going on in order to fully ensure that the attack is directed at troops stationed in military tunnels and that the damage does not spread to the civilian population inside or near it. This can only be done by gathering intelligence as well as monitoring and identifying.
Keywords
Armed conflict
International humanitarian law
Law of armed conflict
Tunnels warfare
Weapon
Subjects
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Islamic Law
Volume 22, Issue 84
Spring 2025
Pages 65-94