Talk:Punji stick

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[edit] Legality

I would be interested to know what are the Legalities of Punji sticks (and other similar devices). If I remember correctly the Geneva conventions (or some other treaty) prohibits weapons that seek to wound or infect soldiers. So does this perhaps mean that these would be illegal under international law? I understand that mostly they are used by non-state combatants, but I would wonder what the legalities would be for a state army employing them. So if anyone has any ideas, it would be good to include something about this in the article. --Hibernian 02:42, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Yes, it would seem that punji sticks violate the Biological Weapons Convention (but only if "laced"). However, my recollection is that Americans lobbied some years ago for an international ban on punji sticks, regardless of their contaminating effect. (Can't find a source for this, though.)

One more thing that I remember but can't find source for... Number of recorded punji sticks fatalities of US soldiers in Vietnam War: zero. GregorB (talk) 11:04, 25 January 2008 (UTC)