Death on Delivery
Paula Lacey in Glasgow
The human cost of the proliferation of cheap drones in Africa has been laid bare in a report released in March by Drone Wars UK (DWUK).
Through verifying over 50 separate incidents which took place in Ethiopia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Somalia and Sudan, the research confirms more than 943 civilian deaths in the region between November 2021 and November 2024.
These attacks, while largely framed by the state as domestic military campaigns against armed insurgent groups, regularly fail to distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The proliferation of these drones, made in Turkey, Iran and China, is the result of ‘the rapid expansion of drone warfare worldwide, facilitated by access to ever-cheaper weapons systems produced by irresponsible, profit-chasing manufacturers’, says DWUK researcher Cora Morris.
The organization is urging Global North governments to forge robust international controls on the transfer and use of armed drones.
📈 Read the full research report from Drone Wars UK and catch up with their recent webinar on the issue
✊ Follow the work of Drone Wars UK and Campaign Against the Arms Trade UK for updates on and how to get involved in the fight against militarism and autonomous weaponry
🛑 Explore New Internationalist's recent issue and brand new series on how to stop the arms trade
🎫 Attend our free in-person panel discussion and live podcast recording on 28 April at Palestine House, London to hear from activists and journalists working on this issue
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