US fortresses in Africa

Kenya: In May, the US announced that its 1 000 embassy staff would be cut in Nairobi because of the mounting threat of attacks by Islamist militants.

In September last year, Somalia's al-Shabaab rebels, who are linked to al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the deaths of 67 people in Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall. Since then, shootings, bombings and grenade attacks have continued in Mombasa and Nairobi.

US diplomats were moved to a more secure compound outside the city centre in Nairobi after about 200 people were killed when al-Qaeda bombed the US embassy in 1998.

Ethiopia: The US set up another monumental embassy in Ethiopia in 2010. That multi-building complex sprawls over almost 2ha (20 000m²) and employs about 1 000 staff. It cost about $1.6billion (R17-billion) to build.

Ethiopia is adjacent to Somalia, so this site was seen as a base from which nearby Islamic militant activity could be monitored. Ethiopia was also alleged to have housed a number of CIA’s “black sites”. Rights groups claim suspected terrorists were arrested then flown to these sites to be interrogated by the CIA or foreign forces. Several countries, including South Africa and Zimbabwe, are also named as places in which black sites exist.

Djibouti: Surveillance and counterterrorism is also said to be the rationale for the massive US embassy that was built in the tiny arid country of Djibouti, which lies between Yemen, Ethiopia and Somalia.

The US military base, Camp Lemonnier, is the biggest on the continent and is alleged to be the site from which significant drone operations into Yemen and Somalia, major bases of al-Qaeda and al-Shabaab, are launched.

Camp Lemonnier houses about 4 000 members of staff including troops, contractors and personnel.