PEACE activists brought production at a drone factory to a halt yesterday after they locked themselves to the gates and took over the rooftop for over 12 hours.

Kent-based arms company Instro Precision was occupied in the early hours by a coalition of anti-arms and Palestine solidarity campaigns.

Instro is owned by Israeli defence group Elbit Systems, which sells drones used to monitor and bomb Gazan as well as Afghan populations.

Four campaigners climbed the building to settle on the roof, one person used a D-lock to chain herself to the entrance gate and 10 others dealt with Instro workers and police on the ground.

Asked how long she planned to stay on Instro’s rooftop Swansea Action for Palestine’s Emma Goldman told the Morning Star a decision would be taken collectively at the end of the day.

But she added: “We have erected a tent and have provisions to last us quite a while.”

According to the Boycott  Divestment and Sanctions campaign, 85 per cent of drones used in last summer’s Israeli attack on Gaza were provided by Elbit.

The arms seller was making a staggering profit last July, when military intervention resulted in a backlog in orders worth $6.2 billion (£4bn).

Corporate Watch researcher Tom Anderson said he took part in the protest following a visit Gaza in 2013, where he spoke to survivors.

He added: “They told me that they wanted people to take action to prevent the companies that manufactured the drones that killed their loved ones from making equipment that will cause others to suffer the way they have.”

joanaramiro@peoples-press.com