Yemeni Government Covers Up U.S. Responsibility for Civilian Drone Deaths
Yemeni Government Covers Up U.S. Responsibility for Civilian Drone Deaths
The government of Yemen has tried to claim responsibility for numerous airstrikes by American drones in an effort to keep its population from siding with al-Qaeda militants.
Of the nearly 40 attacks launched by U.S. unmanned aircraft in the Middle Eastern country, one in particular has stirred considerable controversy and antipathy towards Washington.
On September 2, an American missile destroyed a Toyota truck loaded with 14 Yemenis from a village near Radda. The attack killed 11, including a woman and two children.
The Yemeni government tried to claim that its own air force carried out the assault, and that those killed were al-Qaeda militants. Many locals refused to accept the official explanation, and eventually Yemeni officials were forced to acknowledge that the strike killed only civilians.
Following a 2009 U.S. drone strike on the southern region of al-Majala, which resulted in the deaths of dozens of civilians, Yemen’s then-leader Ali Abdullah Saleh told then-U.S. Central Command chief Gen. David H. Petraeus, “We’ll continue saying the bombs are ours, not yours.” The assurance was made in a U.S. Embassy email, which was later disclosed by WikiLeaks.
http://www.allgov.com/news/us-and-the-world/yemeni-government-covers-up-us-responsibility-for-civilian-drone-deaths-121229?news=846610
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