Wim Zwijnenburg Profile picture
Nov 18, 2021 10 tweets 9 min read Read on X
Enter the dragon: Chinese armed #drones now confirmed on @Airbus satellite imagery flying from #Ethiopia's Harar Meda airbase and new @planet satellite imagery showed increase activity with Iranian drones at Semera. Here's our @PAXforpeace analysis 1/x

paxforpeace.nl/news/blogs/eth…
With reports of Chinese drones being involved in the #Tigray war, initial rumors of Wing Loongs II operated by the #UAE and flying from Eritrea could not confirmed to be involved in strikes in Ethiopia, as demonstrated in this @bellingcat article 2/x
bellingcat.com/news/rest-of-w…
We learned this summer that #Iran has exported armed #drones to Ethiopia, flying from Semera air base, as showed in social media images and satellite imagery, again documented by @bellingcat 3/x bellingcat.com/news/rest-of-w…
Rumors persisted over other countries selling armed #drones to Ethiopia, and in September 2021, construction of a tarmac could be spotted at a hangar south of Harar Meda, seen here on @planet Skysat imagery 4/x
We were tipped that Chinese #drones arrived early November, and ordered @airbus imagery that indeed shows two drones, fitting the characteristics and measurements of the Chinese Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group's Wing Loong drone on two dates parked outside the hangar 5/x
This confirmed indications of both statements given by Ethiopia's defence officials in interviews and flight tracking by @Gerjon_ of transport planes coming in from China, originating from a city where the Wing Loong drone factory is located 6/x
At the same time, we also kept monitoring the Semera Air base where @planet satellite imagery showed aircraft, with measurements fitting the Iranian Mohajer-6 drones, were seen on various dates on both the runway and tarmac in Sept-November 7/x
There are persistent rumours that #Ethiopia has acquired Turkish Bayraktar TB-2 #drones this summer, as reported in the Guardian, and allegedly spotted flying near Harar Meda, according to a source shared with @Gerjon_ but not confirmed on ground 8/x
theguardian.com/world/2021/nov…
Considering the many documented violations of the laws of war by Ethiopia one wonders how #China can approve these sales under the #Armstreaty obligations that should have prevented such sales. This underscores the need for stricter controls on drones proliferation and use 9/END
Addendum: we overlooked this but well spotted by @oryxspioenkop: there is also the Command and Control Center build next to the runway with Ground Control Stations and satellite uplinks for the Wing Loong (and other?) drones at Harar Meda, #Ethiopia.

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More from @wammezz

Aug 7
Fighting continues in the heavily industrialized #Donbass region of #Ukraine around the town of Novogorodske, or better know as 'New York', hosting a massive phenol chemical plant that is posing a huge environmental risk. A short thread: 1/x Image
The chemical plant is producing phenol, a flammable, highly corrosive chemical. The site itself hosted large quantities prior to the invasion, while toxic waste is stored in three nearby ponds. We flagged these risks in this 2017 @bellingcat piece 2/x

bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-eu…
The location faced shelling and destruction since 2014, already resulting in fires at the toxic waste pond. We visited the location with @3Bergen in 2018 where the operator and nearby civilians shared the concerns over a massive chemical incidents from shelling 3/x

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Read 9 tweets
Jul 19
The war is turning #Gaza into rotting garbage dumpsite as the destruction continues. We have launched a new report drawing on satellite imagery and #OSINT to visualize the scale the of solid waste and linked public health crisis. A small thread 1/x 🧵
paxforpeace.nl/news/war-torn-…

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Prior to Oct 7, the #Gaza Strip was already facing enormous problems with solid waste management, despite initiatives by the @WorldBank to construct safe landfills. Illegal waste dumps and waste fires contributed to environmental stressors for nearby communities 2/x
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The destruction and massive displacement since the start of Israel's military campaign caused a massive garbage crisis: waste management collapsed, vehicles destroyed, official landfills closed and waste pilling up in the streets from October onward. 3/x
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Read 12 tweets
Dec 18, 2023
The devastation brought upon #Gaza's urban and rural environment by Israel after the brutal Hamas attacks is making large parts uninhabitable, a new @PAXforpeace
report shows. The massive damage is also posing long-term public health risks. A thread: 1/x paxforpeace.nl/news/israels-b…
The wide-scale destruction of urban areas is creating millions of tons of conflict-rubble, often mixed with toxic waste, and damaged hazardous facilities posing extra public and env health risks. We used @unosat
/@JamonVDH/@coreymaps data for damage, and #OSINT for facilities 2/x Image
Hundreds of types of water facilities have been damaged/ destroyed, worsening public health risks. Throughout #Gaza water wells, desalination plants, pumping systems are affected, while it was already struggling water shortage prior to the escalation 3/x Image
Read 8 tweets
Oct 26, 2023
The level of urban destruction by the use of #explosiveweapons in populated areas such as #Gaza is significant. Beyond the civilians casualties, this also leaves millions of tons of rubble, posing additional environmental health risks. New @Maxar img from Oct 21, Al Karameh 1/x
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Here the damage at Beit Hanoun in northern #Gaza showing a complete neighborhood being almost completely demolished from bombardments 2/x
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And here at Atatra in northern #Gaza with complete buildings collapsed from airstrikes. Building materials often contain hazardous materials and debris often mixed with industrial or other types of hazardous waste and UXOs 3/x
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Read 4 tweets
Jun 13, 2023
And toxic ghost from the past appears as DoD approvs #depleteduranium export to Ukraine: despite US overstating the case, the use of DU would only complicate conflict-pollution in #Ukraine and counters the global norm against its use 1/x
wsj.com/articles/u-s-s…
What past wars showed was that DU was not decisive. In the Gulf Wars, most tanks were destroyed with Hellfires and Maverick missiles. Tungsten rounds still are able to destroy Russian tanks, and DU was no silver bullet. 2/x wise-uranium.org/pdf/dumyths.pdf Image
What our @PAXforpeace research in #Iraq found was that the US was uninterested in clean-up and remediation of DU and contaminated materials, putting civilians at risk of exposure, in particular children playing on tanks and scrapmetal workers. 3/x paxforpeace.nl/wp-content/upl… Image
Read 7 tweets
Jun 11, 2023
Open question with regard to the #Kakhovka flood impacts is to what kinds of pollutants were present on industrial locations that were swept away and create additional pollution risks. One example is the Kherson Oil Depot, southwest of the city 1/x Image
Another area of concerns is the industrial area south, hosting various construction facilities that are storing different types of hazardous substances. Satellite imagery by @planet indicates there are pollutants in the water 2/x Image
South of the city is the shipyard, which usually stores a range of hazardous substances including different types of oil, LPG, solvents and and cleaning agents. Some ships also were swept away or capsized by the flooding 3/x Image
Read 6 tweets

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