Hiroshima marks 80 years since atomic bombing with global call for nuclear disarmament

Thousands gathered in Hiroshima on Wednesday to mark the 80th anniversary of the world's first wartime use of a nuclear bomb, as survivors, officials and representatives from 120 countries and territories renewed calls for global disarmament, Al Jazeera reported.

- TDG NETWORK

On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped a uranium bomb, codenamed Little Boy, over the western Japanese city, killing roughly 78,000 people instantly. Tens of thousands more died by the end of the year from burns and radiation exposure. Three days later, Nagasaki was hit with a plutonium bomb, leading to Japan's surrender on August 15 and the end of World War II.

At Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park, located almost directly beneath the detonation site, delegates from a record number of international countries and regions attended the annual memorial.