February, 09 2017, 10:30am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Reprieve's London office can be contacted on: communications [at] reprieve.org.uk / +44 (0) 207 553 8140.,Reprieve US,, based in New York City, can be contacted on Katherine [dot] oshea [at] reprieve.org
Trump Defends 'Winning' Yemen Raid - Reprieve Comment
WASHINGTON
President Donald Trump has defended a US raid on a Yemeni village that resulted in the death of at least 23 civilians and a US Navy Seal.
The President tweeted this morning in response to public criticism of the raid by a senior Republican, Senator John McCain. Mr Trump said that the Yemen raid was a "winning mission", that the US should "start winning again", and that Mr McCain "should not be talking about" its success or failure to the media.
International human rights organization Reprieve, which assists the civilian victims of covert US strikes, has established that at least 23 civilians were killed during the raid. Among the civilian dead were a newborn baby, an eight year old girl, and an 80-year-old tribal elder.
Commenting, Jennifer Gibson, Drones and Kill List Project Lead at Reprieve, said:
"No mission that results in the deaths of dozens of women, children and the elderly should be described as a 'win.' Foreign operations are not sporting events - and killing civilians will not help America win anything. If President Trump truly wants to make the US safer, he should call for a full, transparent investigation into this raid, and learn from the mistakes made."
Reprieve is a UK-based human rights organization that uses the law to enforce the human rights of prisoners, from death row to Guantanamo Bay.
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