TMR Editor’s Note:
Whenever terrorists attacks occur in Burkina Faso, they are often associated with the U.S. hub of the top-secret African spying network located in its capital Ouagadougou. The following excerpt indicates just how prominently configured this obscure impoverished nation is in the African theater of the USA’s ongoing War on Terror.
A hub for secret network
A key hub of the U.S. spying network can be found in Ouagadougou (WAH-gah-DOO-goo), the flat, sunbaked capital of Burkina Faso, one of the most impoverished countries in Africa.
Under a classified surveillance program code-named Creek Sand, dozens of U.S. personnel and contractors have come to Ouagadougou in recent years to establish a small air base on the military side of the international airport.
(Source: U.S. expands secret intelligence operations in Africa)
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (BF) was chosen to host the key DIA intelligence hub for AFRICOM in Africa for a variety of reasons that are beyond the scope of this report. Nonetheless, conjecture throughout international intelligence circles about today’s terror attacks seems to indicate that this U.S. Special Operations military spy headquarters may soon be kicked off the BF reservation. Which also means that the super-secret Creek Sands surveillance program will be forced to relocate.
Creek Sand: U.S. Special Operations in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso has been used as the literal launchpad for so many spying and surveillance operations which essentially support the U.S. drone program and other covert back ops implemented throughout Africa. Somalians, in particular, has been the target of many unlawful drone assassinations which were facilitated specifically from Burkina Faso. Ouagadougou, in particular, serves as the “NORAD” of Africa where it concerns the monitoring of all threats, real and imagined, against the vast Anglo-American interests spread around the African continent.
Burkina Faso: Nerve Center for U.S. Special Operations in Africa
With the Internet now running at full tilt, the African people are no longer in the dark about the true American intentions to strip the continent bare of its natural resources regardless of the costs to and suffering of the local communities. They have also become aware that Burkina Faso has been set up as the premier intelligence-gathering nerve center for AFRICOM. Hence, there will be more events staged in and around Ouagadougou by both sides of this conflict that will determine who assumes complete command and control of all of Africa.
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Burkina Faso attack: ‘At least 20 dead’ in Ouagadougou hotel
BBC
Gunmen have attacked a hotel used by westerners in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, taking hostages and reportedly killing at least 20 people.
Eyewitnesses said two car bombs went off outside the Splendid hotel at around 19:30 local time (same as GMT).
Three to four masked men then stormed the Splendid Hotel, which is used by UN staff and westerners, witnesses said.
Robert Sangare, a hospital director in the city, said at least 20 people had died and 15 more wounded.
Witnesses said soon after 01:00 that an operation to free hostages from the hotel was under way. Part of the hotel was on fire, they reported.
Foreign Minister Alpha Barry had earlier said he would not rule out the co-operation of French troops.
One group that monitors jihadist networks said al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghrebclaimed it was behind the attack.
Witnesses said the gunmen had initially entered the Cappuccino cafe near the hotel. One employee at the cafe told Agence France Presse that “several people” had been killed there.
Eyewitnesses reported hearing exchanges of gunfire between the men and security forces, as well as sporadic gunfire from inside the four-star hotel, which is close to the country’s international airport.
Image copyright: AFP/Getty Images–
In the latest developments:
- The US military, that has some 75 staff in Burkina Faso, said it was ready to help French troops at the hotel
- France’s ambassador to Burkina Faso, Gilles Thibault, says a curfew is in place until 06:00 local time
Who is the group responsible?
Image copyright: AP–
The SITE monitoring group, which analyses jihadist networks, said al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed it was behind the attack.
The monitoring group specifically stated that those responsible were the al-Murabitoun group, which is based in the Sahara desert in northern Mali and contains fighters loyal to the veteran Algerian militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar.
Last month, the group announced it had merged with AQIM. Belmokhtar, a one-eyed commander who fought Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s, was once a member of AQIM but left after a falling-out with its leadership.
Belmokhtar has been declared dead many times, the latest by a US air strike on 14 June last year in Libya – according to Libyan authorities – but his death has not been formally confirmed.
AQIM and al-Murabitoun said they were behind an attack on a hotel in Burkina Faso’s neighbour Mali in November, that left 20 people dead.
Burkina Faso had recently held its first presidential election since a coup earlier last year.
That coup toppled long-time leader Blaise Compaore, who had governed for 27 years.
“We are still in a context of political fragility, so I think the timing of this attack is meaningful,” Cynthia Ohayon, an analyst with the International Crisis Group, told the BBC from Ouagadougou.
“The country has long borders with Mali and Niger, and we know there are armed groups present on the border, so this was probably something we had coming.”