The use of drones by many African countries in its battle against armed groups causes great harm to civilians, according to a new report.

More than 943 civilians were killed in at least 50 accidents across the six African countries from November 2021 to November 2024, according to the Drone Wars UK report.

The report, entitled Death upon deliveryIt reveals that the strikes are regularly failing to distinguish between civilians and fighters in their operations. EXperts told the island that the death toll is likely not only the tip of the iceberg because many countries run secret drones.

When drones become the preferred weapon for governments throughout the continent, what are the consequences of civilians in conflict areas? Is it time for the world to regulate the sale of drones?

What explains the increase in drone acquisitions by African countries?

The report highlights how the number of African countries that get armed drones, especially the average height, and long -standing (male) aircraft, increases significantly in recent years.

Since 2022, at least 10 African countries have obtained these weapons with governments that justify their purchases as a means of combating rebellions and security threats.

However, the reality on Earth was often different with many strikes that led to collective civilian victims, raising concerns about human rights violations.

Cora Morris, the author of the report, said that drones were marketed as a “effective” and modern method to make war with minimal risks to military personnel.

But in reality, this is not always true with the installation of civil losses.

Morris said that drones “significantly reduce the threshold of using force, making it easier for armies to spread munitions without danger to their special forces.”

“The result of this was a serious civil loss,” she told Al -Jazeera Island.

The spread of drones has also been fed through geopolitical transformations, as African governments seek to rely on the military self and turn into new suppliers ready for sale without strict circumstances.

Michael Spagaj, head of the Economics Department at the Royal Holway University in London, believes that the trend is mainly driven by the economy.

“The purchase of drones has become a cheap way for countries to gain a large fire power. Spagte told Al -Jazeera:” You don’t have to invest in training the people you may lose. “

He also said that this trend is likely to be in its beginning.

“Some countries may still wake up to the use of drones, and at some point, we will start listening to NGOs using strong drones,” and warned.

He added: “These are still somewhat advanced techniques, but I doubt that they will remain so forever.”

While the report is primarily discussed in the consequences of using drones in Africa, it also affects the main suppliers who feed this increase.

Turkiye, China and Iran have emerged as dominant sources, and the report found a group of drones for African countries.

Morris said that the role of actors such as turkiye and China, which were ready to supply drones “relatively cheaply with little concern about how they used” means that these weapons have spread rapidly in the past few years, especially the countries fighting armed groups.

What countries have been investigated?

The report defines six main countries as the use of drones had a particularly deadly effect:

Sudan

Done -scale aircraft were widely used in the ongoing Sudanese Civil War with reports of civil infrastructure strikes, including markets and residential areas. Both the warring sides – the Sudan army and the Rapid Support Forces – used a group of drones.

Somalia

The country has always been a battlefield for drones, driven primarily with operations targeting the base of a young man. However, civilian deaths were worrying, which raised concerns about the accuracy and intelligence behind these strikes. The African Army Command conducted hundreds of air strikes In Somalia If the targeted youth fighters say, but too It ended with the killing of civilians In the so -called side damage.

Nigeria

The Nigerian government used drones in its battle against Boko Haram and other armed groups. However, there were multiple cases of strikes against civilians, including in December 2023 when a drone attack hit a group of people watching a Muslim celebration in Todon Perry, Cadona.

Burkina Faso

The conflict in Burkina Faso began to intensify around 2015, as it spoiled the activity of the armed group from the neighboring Mali. It is part of a wider regional crisis in the coast.

financial

Burkina Faso has adapted their use of drones against armed groups. But these strikes have repeatedly resulted in civil losses.

Ethiopia

The Ethiopian government has increasingly relied on drones in its battle against the People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). Multiple strikes in refugee and market camps have led to a wide condemnation. Human rights organizations and the United Nations have denounced the lack of accountability.

What are some of the most bloody strikes?

The effect was destroyed with many strikes that led to great losses in civilians. Among the most tragic incidents documented in the report are:

• Nigeria, December 2023: The blow struck drones in the village of Todon Perry to target fighters from an armed group instead of a crowd of Muslims who are watching the holiday that celebrates the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad, 85 people were killed. A government statement said that civil losses were the result of an incorrect analysis.
• Ethiopia, 2022-2023: an attack in October 2022 on residents in the village of Oromia Offo Pickki, killed at least 86 people. The report said that government forces have intensified drones attacks after an increasing number of Uromo Liberation Army fighters were reported in the area. He added that in the weeks that followed the initial attack, at least dozens of drones were carried out in the Oromia region with losses in at least 10 of these strikes.
• Somalia, March 2024: Two drones were killed that hit a Javi farm in southern Somalia and the village of Baghdad near at least 23 people in an accident that brought a wide scale and calling for accountability. The families of the victims described the incident as a massacre while Somalia’s statement claimed all those who were killed “terrorists”, and they refused to recognize the damage to civilians, according to the report.
• Burkina Faso, August 2023: The Burkinabe Army’s drone strike hit a market in the village of Buro, killing at least 28 people. The report said that the accident is just a case of “irregular bombings of innocent societies that are only sowing the destruction and insecurity.”
• Sudan, September 2023: A drone attack was killed on the Guru Market in Khartoum at least 46 people. Reports and witness data indicate that the attack was carried out by drones or military aircraft believed to be affiliated with the Sudan Army.

Morris said that there is “a clear unwillingness to investigate the claims of civilian victims,” ​​adding that “the stabilization scale for civil harm all over the world is cheating on wholesale failure to lose civil life seriously.

She said: “This is more and more, as the use of drones is interested in normalizing civil death accompanying them.”

Does the sale of drones require better supervision and organization?

The report emphasizes the urgent need for further control and organization to use drones amid a rapid expansion of drones around the world.

In the past ten years, the number of drones has increased from four to 48, according to the report.

She said that three major international weapons agreements are currently applying to the export of armed drones, but they all have “great weaknesses.”

In his recommendations, the author of the report urged the international community to move quickly towards creating a new international monitoring system that focuses on preventing the damage caused by the spread of unarmed armed regimes.

Morris and Spagate agreed that the drone war will only expand.

“I think that the use of drones will grow dramatically and may multiply to NGOs,” said Spag.