Safari Club was a covert alliance of intelligence services formed in 1976 that ran clandestine operations around Africa at a time when the United States Congress had limited the power of the CIA after years of abuses and when Portugal was withdrawing from Africa.
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Safari Club takes its name after the exclusive resort in Kenya where the group first met in 1976.
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Creation of the Safari Club coincided with the consolidation of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International.
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The Safari Club included France, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Iran.
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Safari Club used an informal division of labor in conducting its global operations.
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The Safari Club typically coordinated with American and Israeli intelligence agencies.
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The Safari Club answered and came to the aid of Zaire—led by the Western-backed and anti-Communist Mobutu—in repelling an invasion by the Front for the National Liberation of the Congo.
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Safari Club ultimately provided US$5 million in assistance for Jonas Savimbi's National Union for the Total Independence of Angola.
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The Safari Club approached Somali leader Siad Barre and offered arms in exchange for repudiating the Soviet Union.
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Existence of the Safari Club was discovered by the Egyptian journalist Mohamed Hassanein Heikal, who was permitted to review documents confiscated during the Iranian Revolution.
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