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| Turkey's Bayraktar TB2 drone |
In recent years, Turkish-made drones are becoming very popular as they have proved to be very effective weapons during war in different parts of the world.
Analyst Paul Maley writes that African states are increasingly acquiring Turkish drones to fight armed groups, given the performance of Turkish-made drones.
In the early days of the Ukraine war, when artillery and rocket launchers did not begin arriving from the West, one weapon that the Ukrainian government was already using was the Turkish-made Baraktor TB2 drone. .
The Turkish-made weapon proved its worth in helping Azerbaijan defeat Armenian armored forces and recapture large swaths of territory in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.
But fans of drone capabilities are not limited to these countries.
In recent weeks, a shipment of Barakter TB2 has been delivered to the West African state of Togo, which is operating to stop the infiltration of jihadist fighters heading south from Burkina Faso.
In May, Niger acquired half a dozen of these highly effective and inexpensive drones for military operations against rebel groups.
Other African customers include Ethiopia, Morocco and Tunisia, while Angola has also expressed interest.
But the first use of these powerful surveillance and strike-capable weapons on the continent was by the UN-recognized government in Libya.
These drones were spotted in Libya in early 2019 and may have been used by Tripoli's forces to counter eastern rebels.
African buyers, especially poorer countries, can purchase drones to acquire an air force, and now, to acquire an air force, they need conventional modern warplanes, spare parts and other essential equipment, maintenance crews and their maintenance personnel. There is no need to spend a lot of money and time on training pilots to fly.
This is a particular attraction for states like Niger and Togo.
Niger and Togo face highly determined and mobile groups of militants who camp out in the bush and move swiftly through rugged coastal areas on motorbikes, with soldiers and police outposts stationed in remote areas, border They ambush the passes and the civilian population and attack suddenly.
Niger's army has been grappling with the problem for years, fighting militants in the tri-border region where Burkina Faso and Mali meet, a few hours' drive from the country's capital, Niamey.
Government troops are also engaged in an uphill battle to protect them from attacks by militant groups Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa.
But the direct reality of the jihadist threat to Togo is a relatively new and deeply troubling experience.
Over the past decade, the activities of militant groups have been confined to the central coast of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, and mainly in areas relatively far from their borders with coastal countries such as Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo and Benin.
But recently the scene has begun to change as armed groups have expanded their reach across much of Burkina Faso and into rural areas along the borders of the four states.
By late 2019, security forces were detecting signs of militant infiltration in northern Togo.
Initially, the fighters would only hide in these areas for rest and treatment, but the government in Lomé, like its counterparts in coastal West Africa, was already concerned that the threat might increase.
Neighboring Ivory Coast suffered a 2016 jihadist attack on the tourist hub of Grand Bassem that killed 19 people, and then attacks and clashes with security forces in the northeast in 2020.
A local wildlife guide was killed when militants kidnapped two French tourists in Pindjari National Park in Benin. Later, two French soldiers were killed in a shooting while trying to rescue tourists in Burkina Faso.
The first direct raid on Togo itself in Sanlunga was carried out last November. Then, before dawn on May 11, dozens of militants attacked a military post in Capek Pikande, near Burkina Faso, killing eight soldiers and injuring 13, while some of the attackers were killed in retaliation. The following month, the government declared a state of emergency in Togo's northern region of Savonas.
But that has not been enough to stop the jihadists who are now active in the border region and are believed to be affiliated with Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wa al-Muslimeen, the main coalition of Mali-based Islamist armed groups. Two soldiers were killed in another incident in July.
President Faure Gnassingbe has visited the region in an attempt to boost morale. But some badly shaken locals were leaving their villages.
Local people had migrated to other areas due to the fear of militants.
The government, which has been in power for decades, has also felt the need to invite opposition parties for talks on developing a united national strategy to tackle the militant menace.
Ultimately, however, direct military force will have to be used. This is where Turkish drones will be needed, and drones can provide Togo, like Niger, with its national aerial surveillance capability to target militant fighters.
Attempts can be made to locate armed groups and possibly carry out attacks against them.
The use of drones for coastal protection is nothing new. Both France and the United States have drone bases in Niger that operate in support of the government's security strategy.
For major powers like Ethiopia, where the federal government is fighting the Tigray People's Liberation Front, drones are an effective tool for increasing overall military capability.
However, it has its risks, just as with manned aircraft. By January, aid workers were reporting that more than 300 civilians had been killed by drones in Ethiopia's Tigray conflict.
Tonguli's army had earlier admitted to accidentally killing seven young civilians.
In moments of panic about the apparent infiltration of jihadists, the risks of such tragic mistakes are magnified.
For both Togo and Niger, a supply partnership with Turkey is also politically useful, reducing their dependence on a close security partnership with former colonial power France, which is partly unpopular with the public. .
From Ankara's point of view, it is also an opportunity to increase 'drone diplomacy' and military partnership. It has become an important tool for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government to expand foreign relations south of the Sahara, which can help achieve projects such as the construction of airports and other critical infrastructure.
There is also a personal connection between Turkey's political and business elite.
Biker, maker of the Bayraktar TB2 drone, is headed by two brothers - chief executive Haluk Bayraktar and his brother Selkok, the chief technology officer, who is married to President Erdogan's daughter.
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