A

ccording to media reports, along with operations in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the US is spreading drone attacks to Somalia and Yemen. Several people were killed and wounded by a US drone missile attack in Yemen’s restive southern province of Abyan.  

Some days ago, the US also conducted a drone attack in Somalia, wounding two senior members of the al-Shabaab fighter group. The airstrike makes Somalia the sixth country where the US is reportedly using drones.

The reality is that drone attacks provide nothing except deaths, destruction, hate and suicide attacks. Drone attacks are not only against the sovereignty of every country, but also against the charter of United Nations.

These days, drone attacks and the killing of civilians has been the main cause of recruiting by militants. According to human rights organizations in Pakistan, for every militant killed in a drone attack there are more than 10 innocent people left dead. Yemen has a tribal society and drone attacks against any tribe and the killing of innocent people can further fuel conflict. Yemen is already facing its worst political crises. The increase in drone attacks can further destabilize not only Yemen but the whole region as well.

 
Khawaja Umer Farooq
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia