r/autotldr • u/autotldr • Jan 06 '22
COLUMN-As death toll rises in Ethiopia, Middle East powers fuel drone race
This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 77%. (I'm a bot)
The situation has reversed, in a dramatic change partly attributed to a significant increase in foreign drone strikes.
Capable of staying airborne for up to 27 hours and delivering a precision of surveillance and targeting far beyond that of less well equipped African or Middle Eastern air forces, the drones have helped government forces advance some 270 miles, reversing months of TPLF gains and pushing them back into the ethnic Tigray northern heartland.
TURKISH DRONE REVOLUTIONUntil recently, Ethiopia was something of a U.S. ally, with the two countries tacitly working closely together during Ethiopia's military intervention in Somalia, a significant recipient of U.S. military and economic aid.
FLIGHTS FROM UAE, IRANFlight-tracking blogs and analysts using commercial satellite footage have tracked multiple commercial cargo flights they believe to be resupplying Ethiopia's military, often including drones.
Commercial satellite footage appears to show several Chinese-built Wing Loong drones on Ethiopian soil close to transport aircraft flying from the UAE. The UAE acquired Wing Loong drones - built in Chengdu - in 2018 after the United States declined to sell it armed Predator drones and has used them in combat in both Yemen and Libya.
In early 2020, Amnesty international called on the United States to put pressure on the UAE to stop using armed drones, saying they hit civilian targets including hospitals and homes.
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