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'No Pakistani civilians killed by US drones in 2013'
[DAWN] No Pak non-combatants were killed by US drones last year as Washington slashed its controversial use of the pilotless planes in the country, a UN expert said Wednesday."I am pleased to be able to report a very significant de-escalation in the use of armed drones by the United States in... Pakistain," Ben Emmerson told news hounds in Geneva. The total number of recorded strikes in 2013 was down to 27 from a peak of 128 in 2010, said Emmerson, who monitors respect for human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... in counter-terrorism operations. "But perhaps most significantly, for the first time in nine years there were no reports of civilian casualties during 2013 in the FATA area of Pakistain," he added. The FATA, or Federally Administered Tribal Areas, is a region bordering Afghanistan where Pakistain's military is battling the Taliban and the United States has used drones to strike at al Qaeda krazed killers. Drones, which beam footage to operators at distant US bases who then launch the strikes, are meant to allow precision hits. But they have caused uproar in Pakistain over civilian casualties in botched strikes, as well as concerns that their use has hampered efforts to hold peace talks with the Taliban and breached national illusory sovereignty. Last May, US President Barack Obama Republicans can come along for the ride, but they've got to sit in the back... raised the bar for launching attacks. But despite the change of tack in Pakistain, Emmerson said that the picture in Afghanistan and Yemen was "much bleaker." Citing a report by the UN Mission in Afghanistan, he said that there was a threefold increase in drone-related civilian casualties between 2012 and 2013. Posted by: Fred 2014-03-13 |
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