Drones destroy child's drawing in Banksy protest at UK arms fair

[September 16, 2017]    LONDON (Reuters) - Military drones destroy a child's picture in British graffiti artist Banksy's latest work, the highlight of an anti-war art show in London which protests against one of the world's biggest arms fairs this week.

"Civilian Drone Strike" depicts three drones flying above a framed picture of a simple line drawing of a house which has been blown up. A crudely drawn little girl and her family pet look on in horror.

"Banksy is apparently offering a critique of the military industrial complex by deliberately destroying a rather nice child's drawing" said Sam Walton, an organizer of the "Art the Arms Fair" show.

The work by the pseudonymous artist will be auctioned on Friday, with Banksy having set a reserve price of 10 pounds ($13) on the picture. The auction is in support of the Campaign Against Arms Trade group and human rights charity Reprieve.

The east London art show has been organized in response to the Defense and Security Equipment International 2017 (DSEI), a large annual military fair which is being held nearby and runs until Friday.

DSEI said over 34,000 would be attending its fair, including defense ministers and representatives from the armed forces.

Security was tight at the DSEI event, which showcases military hardware from planes, armored vehicles and guns to clothing and drones. On Wednesday British defense minister Michael Fallon addressed the fair.

(Reporting by Alistair Smout and Michael Holden; editing by Stephen Addison)

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