As rights activists both in and out of Yemen continue to debate the legality of drones as counter-terror weapons, President Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi clearly positioned himself in favour, stressing to al-Hayat (pan-Arab newspaper) that regardless of the controversy, unmanned planes remained Yemen’s best line of defence, somewhat paraphrasing US President Barak Obama.
He stressed, “Drone strikes have greatly helped in limiting al-Qaeda activities, despite some mistakes which we are sorry about,” referring to December 2013 wedding convoy massacre when dozens of civilians were mistaken for Islamic militants.
President Hadi’s comments on drones come amid news reports that Washington has decided to gift Yemen with its very own fleet, as to limit its own military footprint and allow Yemeni officials to own to either their success or failure, instead of having to justify every strike to the international community.
But if President Hadi is keen to defend his stance on drone by waving the flag of national security, rights activists are intent on outlawing their use. On Tuesday, a group of activists and family members of victims will get together to launch Yemen’s first drone victim organization as to give a voice to the voiceless and create a space where some form of vindication will be offered.
The National Organization for Drone Victims (NODV) is being sponsored by Reprieve, a UK-based charity which campaign against drone strikes and conduct field investigations.
Baraa Shiban, Reprieve project coordinator for Reprieve, told reporters NODV “will assist affected communities in the aftermath of drone strikes by focusing on the economic impact of the loss of families’ primary bread-winners, psychological trauma and physical injuries.”
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