The U.S. Embassy in Djibouti tracked an aircraft in distress over Djiboutian airspace and urged people to avoid the area around Chabelley Airfield after a U.S. Air Force MQ-9A Reaper crashed nearby on Sunday. The aircraft came down close to Chabelley Cemetery shortly after takeoff, with initial reports indicating no casualties or property damage.
Chabelley Airfield is the largest U.S. Air Force base for remotely piloted aircraft in Africa and a key node in U.S. surveillance operations across the Horn of Africa. The site sits near Djibouti City and the Bab el-Mandeb corridor, placing it close to one of the region’s most sensitive maritime and military routes.
U.S. personnel and Djiboutian authorities were coordinating the response on the ground. The cause of the incident has not been disclosed in the confirmed reporting, and the aircraft type was identified by media outlets rather than in the embassy’s quoted alert. The Reaper is widely used for reconnaissance and strike missions, making any loss at Chabelley operationally significant for U.S. drone activity in the region.