Drones launched from Ethiopia

THE US Air Force has been secretly flying drones from a civilian airport in southern Ethiopia as part of an aggressive campaign against al-Qaeda affiliates in Somalia and Yemen.

The Washington Post said that Washington has invested millions of dollars to upgrade a remote airfield in Arba Minch from where it was now flying a fleet of Reaper drones that can carry Hellfire missiles and satellite-guided bombs.

The Ethiopian government has denied the presence of any foreign military bases.

Drones are often called the weapon of choice in President Barack Obama’s administration, which quadrupled drone strikes against al-Qaeda targets in Pakistan’s lawless tribal areas. The hi-tech, unmanned planes are controlled from military bases that can be as far away as the US

Reapers, known as “hunter-killer” drones, have a range of about 1,115 miles and Arba Minch is about 300 miles south of Addis Ababa.