|
Deadly US 'buzzers' fray nerves in Tribal Areas
 Unmanned United States drones armed with missiles have stepped up patrols over villages along the Pak-Afghan border, hunting for Taliban and Al Qaeda militants and fraying nerves below. Pashtun villagers living on the frontier call them 'buzzers', and the aircraft have increasingly taken to the skies, causing sleepless nights and occasionally raining down death. "We're sick of these drones, they're driving us crazy," said Sher Shah, a government official in South Waziristan's Wana. "They fly so low at night we can't sleep!" The Predators, capable of carrying two anti-tank Hellfire missiles, can remain aloft for up 24 hours -- providing the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with a wealth of intelligence beamed live from its hi-tech cameras. They have struck several times in northwest Pakistan this year, killing dozens of suspected militants. Sometimes villagers can spot the drones -- a tiny speck in the sky -- and even fire at them with rifles. At other times the drones are too high to see, but you know they're there from the distinctive and incessant buzz given off by their rear-mounted propeller engines. The buzzing often gets louder at night as the drones patrol at lower altitudes in the darkness, villagers say. Residents of Bajaur, another militant-plagued region on the Afghan border, said drones flew overhead all night on Thursday. "The sky is not safe, the earth is not safe, where should we go?" asked Jabbar Shah, a resident of Inayat Kalay village, about 10 kilometres from the border. "We don't know when they will strike and who they will hit. It's very worrying," he said.
According to analysts, the Predator activity -- which Pakistan does not officially allow -- is a sign of growing US frustration with Pakistan's inability to tackle the militants. Some US politicians, including presidential candidate Barack Obama, have even suggested that the United States should attack Al Qaeda inside Pakistan without Pakistani approval. Pakistan, which has been trying to negotiate peace with the militants, has ruled out allowing foreign troops on its soil. For the time being, at least, it looks as if the United States will rely on its drones, and people on the border will continue living in fear. Malik Khairdin, a tribal elder in Wana, said he had stopped letting too many cars park outside his house or allowing guests to stay because that might be spotted by the drones. "We fear we might be hit on suspicion of being Al Qaeda," Reuters quoted him as saying. On Friday, tribesmen staged a protest by convening a jirga against the unusual increase in drone flights over South Waziristan and its adjoining areas, Online reported. Tribal leader Malik Nur Zada informed the jirga that the tribesmen were greatly disturbed by the spy planes due to the noise. Addressing the jirga, Political Agent Fazal Rabbi Khan assured the tribesmen that their problems would soon be sorted out, adding that several developmental projects were progressing in the area. Posted by: Fred 2008-07-12 |
|
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=244028 |