|
Kampala, Uganda, May 28, 2011 - Uganda police warned soccer fans on
Friday that Somalia's al Shabaab insurgents could attack them while they
watch Saturday's Champions League final.
Abbas Byakagaba, the director of the police anti terrorism unit, told a
news conference that the al Qaeda-affiliated insurgents could also
strike on June 3, the Matyrs' Day public holiday and that they had
boosted security in the country.
Al Shabaab, which has waged an insurgency against Somalia's
Western-backed government, claimed responsibility for the bombings in
Kampala while fans watched last year's World Cup final on television,
killing 79.
The Somali insurgents have in the past issued warnings of possible
strikes the east African country to try to force it to withdraw its
peacekeeping troops deployed in Somalia, as part of an African Union
mission (AMISOM).
"We have several events coming up: we have European Champions League
finals, there's the Martyrs Day and the information we have is that al
Shabaab is targeting these events," Byakagaba said, referring to the
match at London's Wembley stadium between Manchester United and
Barcelona.
Byakagaba said they had intelligence indicating that an unspecified
number of al Shabaab operatives had entered the country and were
planning to launch attacks on crowded areas and big events, adding: "We
have heightened our vigilance."
Earlier this week Uganda's opposition dismissed as scaremongering a
police warning that al Shabaab was planning to assassinate their leaders
and said it was a ploy to scare them off protests against food and fuel
riots.
Al Shabaab has criticized Ugandans for re-electing President Yoweri
Museveni, who they blame for invading their country.
AMISOM -- which also comprises soldiers from Burundi -- says its forces
now control more than 60 percent of Mogadishu. Horn of Africa experts
say they are all that prevent the insurgents from toppling an
administration plagued by rifts and corruption. (Editing by George
Obulutsa).
Source: Reuters
|
|
