Human RightsNorth America

Anti-killer drone protesters arrested at US Air Force base

359451_Anti-drone-protest

A number of anti-drone protesters were arrested Friday evening in the US state of California as the US continues to kill innocent civilians in its drone attacks in Muslim countries.

Eleven people were arrested outside Beale Air Force Base as they demanded an end to the Obama administration’s regular use of deadly drones which continue to kill innocent people, including children.

Beale is home to the Global Hawk, a US spying drone which collects information for armed Predator and Reaper drones that conduct deadly attacks thousands of kilometers away from the United States.

In a similar protest on October 30, 2012, arrests were made and nine protesters were prosecuted on charges of entering a military installation without permission. The protesters were found guilty by two US magistrate judges and sentenced to terms of probation.

Friday’s protest came as the death toll of US drone strikes in Yemen has been spiraling over the last few days. On Saturday, just one day after the recent protest outside Beale, over 20 people were killed when a US drone attacked a highway in Yemen’s southeastern Baida province.

One day later, on Sunday, 30 more people were killed in a US drone attack in Yemen’s southern province of Abyan.

The US also conducts deadly drone attacks in other Muslim countries like Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

Washington claims that its airstrikes target militants, but local sources say civilians have been the main victims of the attacks.

Ben Emmerson, the UN special rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, has said that US drone strikes have killed far more civilians than Washington has publicly acknowledged.

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