Jul 23 2013

Leaked Report Reveals Extent of Civilian Casualties From US Drone Strikes in Pakistan

Feature Stories | Published 23 Jul 2013, 9:55 am | Comments Off on Leaked Report Reveals Extent of Civilian Casualties From US Drone Strikes in Pakistan -

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Of the 700+ people killed by US drones in Pakistan, nearly 150 have been revealed to be civilians, and a majority of those found to be children. The numbers come from a classified report drafted by members of Pakistani government on the real extent of US drone strikes in Pakistan’s tribal border region.

The report was leaked to the UK-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism which in turn published the entire 12 pages detailing more than 70 strikes between 2006-2009. While US government officials, who rarely even acknowledge the program’s existence, maintain that very few civilians are ever killed, the report contends that more than 20% of victims are innocent civilians, and about 12% are children.

Pakistan’s new Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif has vowed an end to the agreement over drone strikes, the latest of which occurred on July 3rd, killing 16 people.

GUEST: Chris Woods, leads the Bureau of Investigative Journalism’s covert war project. His work has appeared in the Guardian, the Sunday Times, the Daily Telegraph, the Independent and the New Statesman.

Visit www.thebureauinvestigates.com for more information about the leaked report.

According to Chris Woods, his best estimates from various reports of the US drone program in Pakistan over the entire 9 year campaign are:

– A Total of 372 strikes have been carried out
– Between 2,600-3,570 people have been killed
– Of these, 411-890 have been civilians
– Of the civilians, 167-197 have been children.

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