CYIL vol. 9 (2018)

CYIL 9 ȍ2018Ȏ THE MILITARY USE OF UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES IN THE FIGHT… of UAV action of the U.S. U.S. officials often say that no more than 50 or 60 civilians died during eight years of the use of UAVs in Pakistan, but this is not true. 51 According to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, since 2004, a total of at least 4,788 strikes were carried out, a total of 7,497 to 10,858 people were killed, 738 to 1,569 of them civilians, 242 to 337 children. 52 Just after president Obama started his office in 2009, he authorized two UAV strikes which did not hit the target during both attacks and instead killed at least fifteen civilians, and Obama became aware of these victims in a matter of hours. 53 There are cases when the victims of the attacks are only civilians, for example, on 17 March 2011 a U.S. UAV launched at least two missiles at a large gathering at Datta Khel Bus Station in North Waziristan. The United States has always claimed that all the killed persons were rebels, but both the Pakistani army and independent investigations after the interviews with the victims show that the gathered were important community members and local elders, all of whom were gathered here in Jirga – the main body of FATA self- government and a dispute settlement body that was set up on that day to settle a dispute over a nearby mine. All parties to the dispute and local leaders were summoned, as well as 35 government-appointed tribal leaders known as malek. The local authorities were informed about the jirga. But the UAV flew over the area for 10 hours and 45 mins and launched two rockets onto the assembly, killing at least 42 people. 54 Even greater doubts about compliance with both the principle of distinction and the principle of proportionality are raised by the attacks carried out on the basis of the activities and lifestyles of the individuals concerned (the so-called signature strikes). Those individuals or groups of individuals who, because of their activities, look similar to terrorists, may be attacked by UAVs. 55 Thus, such persons are evaluated only from the information obtained from video material transmitted through an unmanned aerial radar, so this is certainly not enough information to allow individuals to be considered fighters or combatants, even more so, to determine that they belong to armed groups that are fighting against the U.S. In reality, this practice does not take into account the possibility of error and violates the principles of distinction and proportionality. 3.2 The Practice of Double Strike and Its Compliance with IHL It is also worth mentioning that there exists a practice where after launching the missiles there is a repeated strike carried out. Evidence shows that due to this double-strike practice, persons coming to rescue to the people suffering from the first strike get killed. Woods from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism notes that their independent research confirmed 12 cases of 18 reported cases of killing persons who came to rescue due to the double strike. 56 51 WOODS, C. Analysis: Oversight failures help oil Obama’s killing machine. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, 19 June 2012. http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2012/06/19/analysis-oversight-failures-help-oil-obamas- killing-machine/ [accessed 22 May 2018]. 52 Drone warfare. https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/projects/drone-war, [accessed 22 May 2018]. 53 WOODS, op. cit. 51. 54 Living Under Drones, op. cit. 39, pp. 58-59. 55 ZENKO, M. Targeted Killings and Signature Strikes Council on Foreign Relations , 16 July 2012 http://blogs.cfr. org/zenko/2012/07/16/targeted-killings-and-signature-strikes/ [accessed 22 May 2018]. 56 Living Under Drones, op. cit. 39, p. 74; WOODS, C. Get the Data: Obama’s terror drones The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, 4 February 2012. http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2012/02/04/get-the-data- obamas-terror-drones/ [accessed 22 May 2018].

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