Drone Roundup, 14 – 17 April, 2020
This twice weekly roundup, curated by ReThink Media, looks at how the media is talking about drone warfare (and related topics) and what stories are being told.
With little transparency from governments on this topic, this roundup aims to be as comprehensive as possible, identifying breaking news, trends, developing stories, or interesting narratives. Rethink Media also use media coverage to compile a snapshot of strikes each week. The short version can be read here.
Officials with US Africa Command are disputing news reports that a civilian was killed during a “precision airstrike” near Jamaame, Somalia, this month, saying the reports are based on propaganda from a terrorist group.
Turkish drone strikes struck a refugee camp in northern Iraq and killed two refugee women, Iraqi authorities said Thursday. The Turkish government claimed they were targeting members of an outlawed Kurdish rebel group.
The head of Libya’s UN-recognized government Fayez al-Sarraj accused opposition leader Khalifa Haftar of launching a new offensive by “indiscriminately [bombing] Tripoli, residential zones, civil institutions and even the public hospital of Al Khadra, in the centre of the capital.”
Strikes & Civilian Casualties
April 15: Turkey launched a deadly drone strike on a refugee camp in Iraq’s northern semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, killing three and drawing angry reactions from Iraqi politicians of different factions. [Yemen Press] [AP]
April 15: Israel allegedly tried to drone strike a Hezbollah commander on the Syrian-Lebanese border. Syrian state media outlet, SANA, reported that the car that was being targeted was a civilian, without specifying the identity of the target. [Al Masdar] [Arab News] [MEMO]
April 14: Local media in Libya said that at least eight pro UN-backed government fighters were killed on Tuesday in a heavy drone attack by militants loyal to warlord Khalifa Haftar. [TRT World]