Nearly 1,000 civilians have been killed and hundreds more injured by military drone strikes across Africa over the past three years, according to a comprehensive report released Monday by Drone Wars UK. The investigation documents at least 50 separate deadly attacks by armed forces across the continent, revealing a “striking pattern of civilian harm” operating with minimal international oversight.
Titled “Death on Delivery,” the report highlights drone warfare’s devastating impact in six African conflicts: Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Ethiopia. The latter has seen the highest civilian toll, with Ethiopian military operations against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front reportedly claiming more than 490 civilian lives across 26 documented strikes.
“Unless the international community moves rapidly towards developing and implementing a new control regime, we are highly likely to see more examples of civilian killings from armed drones,” warned researcher Cora Morris, who emphasized the contrast between intense scrutiny of drone usage in Ukraine versus limited attention to Africa’s rapidly escalating deployment.
Most weaponized drones in African conflicts originate from Turkey, China, and Iran, with Turkey’s Bayraktar TB2 becoming increasingly prevalent. These “medium altitude, long endurance” (MALE) systems can conduct extended surveillance and precision strikes over vast distances.
In Burkina Faso, where government forces celebrate drone strikes against purported terrorists, researchers found contradictory evidence. One August 2023 attack on a marketplace killed at least 28 civilians, contradicting official narratives about surgical precision and technological sophistication.
The report characterizes its documented death toll of 940 civilians as “conservative,” suggesting actual casualties may be significantly higher.