Drones have spread across large parts of Africa in recent years and are now reported to be operating over every major conflict on the continent. They were involved in more than 2,100 violent incidents in one year and were estimated to have killed 9,000 people, three times the figure for 2024.

The figures were presented in “Lessons from Africa’s Drone Wars,” a report by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, a research institute affiliated with the U.S. military.