Yemenis protest at US drone attacks

People in Yemen have staged a demonstration in the northern city of Sa’ada against US assassination drone attacks in the country.

Protesters took to the streets to condemn the deadly US operations, saying that the airstrikes violate the sovereignty of Yemen.

The CIA-run drone strikes have increased since early August with figures showing that some 50 people have been killed in several provinces across the country.

The latest incident took place on Monday, when at least two people were killed after a US drone targeted a car in the southern province of Shabwa.

Earlier this week, Yemeni Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Tawakul Karman also condemned the US drone attacks as “unacceptable.”

In her Twitter account, Karman said the airstrikes not only fail to curb militancy in the country, but also encourage more people to join al-Qaeda and give rise to terrorism in Yemen.

The United States often uses its assassination drones to hit targets in Yemen, as well as Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Somalia.

Washington claims the CIA drones target “militants,” but international human rights groups say the facts on the ground indicate that civilians are frequently killed in the airstrikes.

According to the Washington-based New America Foundation, the assassination attacks in Yemen almost tripled in 2012.