GENEVA (AP): A human rights group said on Monday that Georgia _ as well as Russia _ dropped cluster bombs in the conflict over the breakaway province of South Ossetia.

Human Rights Watch said Georgia's government has acknowledged using the widely denounced weapons, while Russia continues to deny it. The rights organization, along with another campaign group, called on Moscow to give access to de-mining groups trying to enter South Ossetia and neutralize the threat of further fatalities from unexploded bomblets.

``These indiscriminate attacks violate international humanitarian law,'' said Bonnie Docherty, arms division researcher at the New York-based body, who said the casualty toll in only four Georgia villages from cluster bombs and their leftover duds was 14 dead and dozens wounded.

The report could provide fuel for Russia, which has traded allegations with Georgia over controversial weapon usage, human rights violations and disinformation. The Kremlin also has been annoyed by what it feels is the West's unfair criticism of Russia and knee-jerk defense of pro-Western Georgia.

Docherty said it was still difficult to gauge how extensive the spread of cluster munitions is in Georgia, particularly near Gori, and in South Ossetia. She said Russia and Georgia should provide information to de-miners about the types of cluster bombs they used and where they were dropped.

Cluster bomblets, which can be as small as a flashlight battery, are packed into artillery shells or bombs dropped from aircraft. A single container used to destroy airfields or tanks and soldiers typically scatters some 200 to 600 of the mini-explosives over an area the size of a football field.

The weapon, a descendant of the ``butterfly bomb'' dropped by Nazi Germany on Britain in World War II, was first used by the U.S. in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. Similar cluster bombs were used by Soviet and Russian troops in Angola, Afghanistan and Chechnya, where leftover duds also continue to inflict casualties, particularly on children attracted by their often eye-catching color and little parachutes.

The campaign against the weapons picked up steam after Israel's monthlong war against Hezbollah in 2006, when it scattered up to 4 million of the munitions across Lebanon, according to U.N. figures. In May, more than 100 countries agreed in Dublin, Ireland, to ban cluster bombs within eight years. But neither Georgia nor Russia pledged to do so.

Human Rights Watch alleged last month that Russia had used the shunned weapon of war, but Georgia's usage had previously been unsubstantiated.

Docherty said the organization received an official letter from Georgia's Defense Ministry acknowledging that it used ground-launched M85 cluster munitions near the Roki tunnel, which connects South Ossetia with Russia. The M85 is the same weapon that was used extensively by Israel two years ago, and by Britain in Iraq.

While Docherty welcomed Georgia's frankness, she said M85 litter also remains in and near the town of Shindisi. While this could point to Russian use, Moscow was not known to have that particular make in its arsenal, she said, adding that it was possible the weapons were spread by Russia's striking a Georgian stockpile.

Despite Russia's official denials, ``there is no question that it used cluster munitions in several areas,'' she said.

Interviews with victims, witnesses, doctors and government officials, photographs and video, and investigation of physical evidence such as craters and fragmentation patterns show that Russia struck the town of Ruisi on Aug. 12 with RBK-250 cluster bombs, Docherty said.

She said Georgia is not known to possess this weapon, which had to be dropped from Russian-controlled skies to release 30 anti-armor PTAB 2.5M submunitions each. The attack was presumably to target Georgian tanks traversing the area, but three civilians died and five were wounded, she said.

``Duds may cause additional casualties,'' Docherty added.

On the same day, Russian cluster bombs killed eight and wounded dozens in a bigger attack on the Georgian city of Gori, she said. Other reports, yet to be confirmed by Human Rights Watch, show more villages near Gori struck by the bombs.

While defenders of cluster bombs _ including the United States _ have pointed out new advances in the weapon, such as self-destruct mechanisms, none of the ordnance found in Georgia had such technology, Docherty said.

Thomas Nash of the Cluster Munitions Coalition, an umbrella group of campaigners against the weapon who played an important role in the Dublin treaty, said the conflict over South Ossetia shows how important it is to completely ban cluster bombs. He criticized separate talks in Geneva this week that are aimed at creating United Nations rules to guide the weapon's use _ a process championed by Washington.

``This will not make any difference to the sort of problems Georgia is facing because of cluster munitions,'' he said. ``If countries are serious, they will ... sign the treaty.''