“After denying any role in the apparent coup attempt in The Gambia, in which armed foreign dissidents attacked the presidential palace on Tuesday morning, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Senegalese military intelligence including the civil intelligence have signed an intelligence pact on sharing and safeguarding sensitive information on The Gambia’s National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and other military sources close to the NIA.
Under the new bilateral pact, finalised on Friday 2 January 2015, Senegal will share intelligence via the US intelligence agencies on The Gambia where the US cannot or may not have access to The Gambian intelligence agency or other security installations. Intelligence secrets signed are divided into; first, second and third level classified information, but Senegalese will have to provide the information level whether its classified material or not to the US on The Gambia.
The pact also included logistic support and training to be provided by the US intelligence to the Senegalese intelligence concerned or recommended by the Senegalese Security authorities. Information sharing among them on The Gambia will also allow for a more effective response to future provocations and during contingencies where necessary. It is also understood that Senegalese intelligence will have to provide the US with some of the operations and arrest made during the recent coup attempt in The Gambia, as the US may find it difficult to have such access.
The bilateral pact signed will use Senegal as a hub for information gathering and US intelligence will treat such information seriously on The Gambia, and will further advice their US officials on such information gathered by Senegalese intelligence on The Gambia. The US intelligence will further seek to know who trains the NIA, and how their training is being conducted and on what areas of training they normally do.”
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