Troops backed by the United States may have violated the 1980 United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons — or the Geneva Convention — by using what looks like white phosphorus in the Syrian city of Raqqa.

The US-backed troops are currently looking to throw the remnants of the Islamic State group — also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) — out of Raqqa, one of the last know strongholds of the terrorist group.

Use of white phosphorus

However, the use of white phosphorus — especially in civilian areas — throughout the later part of last week may make matters a tad more difficult for the US-backed troops, who will no doubt have to face the consequences of their actions.

Videos and photos seem to corroborate the charges against these forces. Videos aired on local news channels and circulated on social media platforms have shown white phosphorus-based incendiary devices being used both during the day and night.

Interestingly, several of the photos and videos seem to have come from Amaq news agency, which is often considered the official mouthpiece of ISIS. Another source of photos and videos is Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently, which has been described in a New York Times (NYT) article as a "monitoring group."

The NYT article also said the Syrian regime forces of President Bashar al-Assad have used white phosphorus and devices based on it on rebels across Syria. Assad has also been accused of carrying out chemical attacks on rebels who are looking to overthrow his regime.

What is white phosphorus?

White phosphorus is an extremely reactive and incendiary form of the chemical element phosphorus, which can inflict second or third-degree burns and is all the more dangerous because it tends to stick to the skin.

The Weapons Law Encyclopedia — a project of the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights — explicitly states: "The use of WP weapons would generally appear to be incompatible with international standards governing the use of force for law enforcement purposes, including the 1990 Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials."

Watch the video of white phosphorus bombs dropped on Raqqa here: