Ethiopia uses Bayraktar TB2 drone to attack civilians in school

Ethiopia's government used a Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drone in January 2022 to attack civilians sheltering in a school during its 16-month conflict with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). 

According to the Washington Post, at least 59 civilians died and 30 were wounded, including children, during the strike. Remnants of weapons recovered from the school by aid workers showed 'internal components and screw configurations matched images of Turkish-made MAM-L munitions'. 

MAM-L weaponry pair exclusively with Bayraktar TB2 drones. Run by Turkey president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son-in-law Selçuk Bayraktar, Baykar has supplied Ukraine, Poland, Qatar, Libya, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Ethiopia and Azerbaijan with armed autonomous drones.

The incident raised concerns about the ethics of using autonomous drones in conflict situations. 

Research, advocacy 🧮

• https://paxforpeace.nl/news/blogs/turkish-drones-join-ethiopias-war-satellite-imagery-confirms

News, commentary, analysis 🗞️

• https://www.politico.eu/article/evidence-civilian-bombing-ethiopia-turkish-drone/

• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/60045176

• https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2022/ethiopia-tigray-dedebit-drone-strike/

• https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/exclusive-us-concerned-over-turkeys-drone-sales-conflict-hit-ethiopia-2021-12-22/

• https://www.newsweek.com/turkeys-game-changer-bayraktar-drones-wont-secure-ethiopias-shaky-peace-opinion-1683463

• https://stockholmcf.org/turkish-drone-used-by-ethiopia-killed-59-civilians-sheltering-in-a-school-in-tigray-report/

• https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/aid-workers-say-ethiopia-air-strike-northwest-tigray-killed-56-people-2022-01-08/