President Donald Trump has signed an executive order clearing the way for drones to kill civilians in secret, Business Insider is reporting.
The order was signed on Wednesday and revokes a mandate that the director of National Intelligence release an annual report of the number of civilian casualties resulting from U.S. operations in non-combat areas, including parts of Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan, according to Business Insider.
Deaths in “areas of active hostilities” will still be reported.
Trump's order does not overturn requirements to report civilian deaths set for the military by Congress, the BBC noted.
Experts claim the new reporting system will not catch drone strikes by agencies like the CIA.
Hina Shamsi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's national security project, said the decision was "deeply wrong and dangerous for public accountability," CBS News reported.
"This decision will hide from the public the government's own tally of the total number of deaths it causes every year in its lethal force program," Shamsi said.
“Now, the government is also no longer committed to providing reasons why its total death count is different from independent credible reports by media and rights groups."
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, said there is "no justification" for ending the reporting practice, which he called "an important measure of transparency.”
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