SEVENTEEN PEOPLE have died in a US-controlled unmanned aerial vehicle attack in the North Waziristan tribal region of Pakistan. Most of the dead were reported by locals to be members of the militant Haqqani network. Pakistan's recently-elected Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, protested and described the attack on July 3 as a violation of the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity. US President Barack Obama is on record saying the strikes are a legitimate part of the campaign against terrorism. The security situation in Afghanistan is still in a parlous state. Much of the carnage is said to be the work of insurgents, many of whom are reported to enter the country from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in north-west Pakistan, home to the Muslim Pashtun people who inhabit both sides of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The region is known to be a stronghold for AI Qaeda and Taliban fighters. The United States continues to use unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in the region, against the express wishes of Sharif.
No comments:
Post a Comment