US moves drone fleet from camp lemonnier to ease Djibouti safety concerns

The US military has been forced to relocate a large fleet of drones from a key counterterrorism base on the Horn of Africa after a string of crashes fanned local fears that the unmanned aircraft were at risk of colliding with passenger planes, according to documents and interviews. 'The Washington Post' newspaper quoted documents as stating that Air Force drones ceased flying this month from Camp Lemonnier, a US installation in Djibouti, after local officials expressed alarm about several drone accidents and mishaps in recent years. The base serves as the combat hub for counterterrorism operations in Yemen and Somalia, playing a critical role in US operations against al-Shabab, the Somali Islamist militia that has asserted responsibility for the Nairobi shopping mall attack, which killed more than 60 people. The Pentagon has temporarily moved the unmanned aircraft from the US base in Djibouti’s capital to a makeshift airstrip in a more remote part of the country. US military officials said the disruption has not affected their overall ability to launch drone strikes in the region, but they declined to say whether it has forced them to curtail the frequency of drone missions or hindered their surveillance of al-Shabab camps and fighters. The Djiboutian government’s growing unease over drone flights casts doubt on its commitment to host the aircraft over the long term. It is unclear whether the temporary drone base can be transformed into a permanent home or whether the US military will have to hunt for another site in the region.