Buro vir Staatsveiligheid

The Buro vir Staatsveiligheid (BvS), (in English: Bureau for State Security) is the national intelligence agency of Orange Free State. It was established in 1956 to advise the Orange Free State government on formulating and executing national security policy. BvS is responsible for all international and domestic intelligence, and counter-intelligence within the Orange Free State, as well as in the service itself. It is also responsible for gathering, correlating, evaluating and analysing this intelligence. The Agency is run by a Director-General, the first Director-General was Henk van den Bergh.

History
The BvS was initially found to advise the government on formulating and executing national security policy. Under the BvS was a network of regional, district and local committees, which reported on the activities and location of political activists so as to form an overall security profile, thus enabling decisions on security action to be taken. Such action included assassination of people opposed to the apartheid government's policies, and the widespread use of abduction, arson, sabotage and torture. The BvS put pressure on the security forces to "engage robustly" against persons and organisations opposed to the government. A now defunct division of BvS was the Civil Cooperation Division (in Afrikaans: Siviele Samenwerking Divisie, SSD), which was a government-sponsored hit squad during the apartheid era that operated under the authority of Defence Minister. The SSD had three objectives:
 * to infiltrate and penetrate the enemy;
 * to gather Information; and
 * to disrupt the enemy.

Current
Unsurprisingly, the Bureau is and has been extremely secretive about its operations, and thus few details reach the public. However, when taking current events in Southern Africa in accord, it appears the attentions of the BvS are currently focused on two main areas: The activities of Al-Qaeda and similar groups abroad in relation to Orange Free State's security, and the activities of illegal Southern African mercenaries, most especially in parts of Africa and Iraq. The Buro vir Staatsveiligheid is one of the elite intelligence organisations in Africa; the others being South African Secret Service (SASS) and the State Security Service in Nigeria. The Bureau nowadays consists of at least the following divisions:
 * Militêre Intelligensie Divisie (Military Intelligence Division)
 * Binnelandse Veiligheidsdienst (Domestic Security Service)
 * Nasionale Veiligheid Divisie (National Intelligence Division)
 * Nasionale Kommunikasie Sentrum (National Communications Centre)

Al-Qaeda
The BvS has received some media attention of late due to media reports of an Al-Qaeda plot to attack civilian targets in parts of Orange Free State. BvS investigated the claims and reported them to be false. However, the BvS remains alert to the possible presence of Al-Qaeda, and other terrorist, operatives in the country, and in January 2004 a number of alleged operatives were arrested and deported.