The UN Says US Drone Strikes in Yemen Have Killed More Civilians Than al Qaeda
(news.vice.com)American drones strikes may have killed as many as 40
Yemeni civilians over the past year, the UN reported on Monday, offering
a tally of the human cost of the long-running US campaign against al
Qaeda in Yemen, which has continued amid the chaos of country’s current
war.
The data on drone strikes came from the latest report on Yemen issuedby the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner For Human Rights (OHCHR),
which compiled accounts of human rights violations from July 1, 2014 to
June 30 of this year.
The US first launched armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over
Yemen in 2002, but the bulk of strikes carried out by the aircraft have
taken place since since 2011. According to figures maintained by the
Bureau of Investigative Journalism’s Drone War program, at least 101
people have been killed by confirmed drone strikes in Yemen, plus 26 to
61 others killed by “possible extra drone strikes.” Between 156 and 365
civilians have also been killed in other covert missions since 2002,
according to the group.
If accurate, the UN’s estimates would represent a significant rise in
confirmed civilian casualties in the country as a result of drone
strikes.
“OHCHR received reliable information indicating that as many as 40
civilians, including a child, may have been killed during the period
under review as a result of drone attacks in Al-Baida, Al-Jawf, Marib
and Shabwah,” the OHCHR report states.
Related: Leaked UN Email on Yemen Shows Difficulty of Negotiations — and Fears Over Al Qaeda’s Growing Presence
