Secret U.S. Drone Base Rapidly Expanding in Djibouti
Leaked cables and Google Earth have revealed a secret drone base
in a remote Djibouti airstrip, essential for U.S. military presence in
Africa.
The newest budding star of the U.S.’s accelerating military
presence in Africa is a drone base in Djibouti, according to an
investigation by The Intercept, which added an Africa chapter to its Drone Paper leaks on Wednesday.
The whistleblower website provided insight into a secret unit called
Task Force 48-4, whose operations are still largely unknown, but which
seems to be principally engaged in counterterrorism in the Horn of
Africa, especially against the al-Shabaab in Somalia. The unit is laid
out in a hub-and-spoke design, with U.S. base Camp Lemmonier, in the
Djibouti capital, at its center, and the growing Chabelly, on an
airstrip 10 kilometers away.
Chabelly is not on the list of overseas bases and the Pentagon
refuses to acknowledge its presence in public, but Google Earth images
and various cables allowed The Intercept to conclude that the base is
active and of rising importance to the U.S. army.
Established in 2013 as a temporary facility to support Camp
Lemmonier, Chabelly now likely serves “intelligence, surveillance, and
reconnaissance activities and counterterrorism strikes in Somalia and
Yemen, as well as aiding the Saudi-led air campaign in the latter
country,” wrote The Intercept Wednesday.
The base provides a landing and taking off point for U.S. drones
headed to Yemen, southwest Saudi Arabia, much of Somalia, parts of
Ethiopia and southern Egypt. It also serves as an airstrip for French
and Japanese military aircraft and civilian planes. Last year, the
Pentagon signed a lease on the land until 2044 at a cost of US$70
million per year.
A Google Earth image of the Chabelly U.S. drone base outside of Djibouti City. A Google Earth image of the Chabelly U.S. drone base outside of Djibouti City. | Photo: Google Earth This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address: "http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Secret-U.S.-Drone-Base-Rapidly-Expanding-in-Djibouti-20151021-0033.html". If you intend to use it, please cite the source and provide a link to the original article. www.teleSURtv.net/english
