A day after the announcement of heightened security measures on US-bound flights, the US embassy in Uganda said yesterday it had been warned of a “specific threat” of attack to the country’s main airport and said travellers “may want to review their plans”.
The warning was one of several recent alarms in restive East Africa, where governments have sought to counter threats, particularly those by the Shabab militant movement based in Somalia.
It was not clear if the Ugandan concerns were linked to the plans, made known by officials in Washington on Wednesday, for tightened passenger screening on many flights to the United States from Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
The measures followed intelligence reports of an increased threat from al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen.
The embassy said it had received information from the Uganda Police Force that, according to intelligence sources, “there is a specific threat to Entebbe International Airport,” which serves the capital, Kampala, 25 miles away.
The warning, in a statement on the embassy’s website, said the attack could take place between 9pm and 11pm last night.
“US embassy Kampala wishes to remind US citizens of the continued threat of potential terrorist attacks in the country,” the statement said.
“The targets for these attacks could include hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, shopping malls, diplomatic missions, transportation hubs, religious institutions, government offices or public transportation.”
The embassy’s warning followed a separate alert Wednesday by Uganda’s Civil Aviation Authority, Reuters reported. Uganda has troops in Somalia fighting the al-Shabab as part of an African Union force and has been on alert in case that involvement draws reprisals.
According to AFP, a Ugandan army spokesman said that troops had been deployed at the airport and in the capital. News photographs from Kampala showed a line of security personnel in camouflage fatigues carrying assault rifles as they patrolled the city.
– (New York Times)