Summary

What was supposed to be a swift and decisive punitive mission by the Ethiopian army has now descended into a humanitarian catastrophe, with Tigrayans putting up a much more tenacious defense than military planners in Addis Ababa had expected. But government forces now have a new tool in their arsenal as they embark on a renewed, all-out offense against Tigray – unmanned combat drones – a platform that has proved highly effective in smashing through entrenched defenses and whittling down combatant morale in conflicts ranging from Syria to Nagorno-Karabakh.

Will the same be true of Ethiopia?