BEIRUT: A shepherd narrowly survived after a cluster bomb left over from the July-August 2006 war with Israel exploded in the southern town of Shebaa Sunday morning wounding and killing several goats, reported Lebanon’s National News Agency.

In September, Lebanon ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions. A total of 109 countries have joined the convention, and 61 – including Lebanon – are “states parties” to it.

According to the Lebanon Mine Action Center, 67 percent of lands affected by cluster munitions have been cleared. They aim to have the country free of cluster munitions by 2016.

Injuries and deaths in Lebanon from cluster bombs are decreasing. Between post-war mid-August and the end of 2011, 183 people were wounded and 26 were killed by cluster munitions. In 2007, 82 people died and 13 were killed. This year, the bombs have wounded five people and killed one.

Ninety percent of the remaining cluster munitions are in the south, which was heavily hit in 2006.