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Security tight in Uganda’s urban areas as UN, US sound sirens on terror
Locals gather outside Mpondwe-Lhubiriha Secondary School in Kasese District on June 17 last year after suspected ADF rebels attacked the school the previous day. PHOTO | ALEX ASHABA
What you need to know:
- The police spokesman, Mr Kituuma Rusoke, confirmed that they received the alerts from the UN and US, which are intended to prevent terrorists from carrying out attacks in remembrance of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in New York that left 2,750 people dead.
Uganda security agencies have tightened their security in urban areas after the United States embassy and the United Nations agencies in Uganda issued terror alerts.
The police spokesman, Mr Kituuma Rusoke, confirmed that they received the alerts from the UN and US, which are intended to prevent terrorists from carrying out attacks in remembrance of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in New York that left 2,750 people dead.
“It is authentic. It come as the US remembers attacks on September 11. The US often sends alerts to their citizens in different countries whenever they are about to approach that date,” Assistant Commissioner of Police Rusoke said yesterday.
On September 11, 2001, Al Qaeda terror group supporters hijacked commercial planes and used them to target key buildings in the US including the Pentagon and World Trade Center.
The attack was used by the US and its allies to invade Iraq and Afghanistan and toppled their governments.
In the most recent alert, the US Embassy indicated: “The Embassy is aware of unconfirmed reports of increased risk of terrorist attacks in Kampala and enhanced security measures by local authorities. American citizens are encouraged to exercise increased caution in public areas including shopping malls, schools, and areas frequented by tourists.”
Mr Rusoke said Ugandans should take the caution and be vigilant during this period since many terror groups often want to carry out attacks to commemorate days they killed innocent civilians.
“Our malls and public places have relaxed security. Terrorism affects all of us. We want the public to be very vigilant all the time,” he said.
For the last one year, Uganda, America and UK have issued several security alerts.
In March, the Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs said they had received intelligence indicating that unknown number of Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels led by ADF commander Ahamed Muhamood Hassan aka Abu Waqas, a Tanzanian born-ADF bomb expert, were planning to carry out terror attacks in urban areas, worship centres and public events in the country.
The ADF rebels resumed intense attacks on Uganda and they have been targeting soft spots such as bars, trucks, schools and roadside markets since 2014. The rebel group is also accused of killing more than 200 people in 30 terror attacks between July 2001 and now in Uganda. The most recent tragic attack was in June 2023 when they killed more than 41 people, especially students, at Lubhiriha Secondary School in Kasese District. Some of the students were abducted and they have never been seen again.
In October last year, suspected gunmen attacked a truck carrying onions from Kisoro District to Mpondwe border in Kasese District, killing one person and injuring another. The suspects later set the truck on fire.
Members of the group that affected Lhubiriha S.S and the truck have since been dismantled.
Fighting ADF rebels
Operation Shujaa started in November 2021 after terror attacks in the city centre and on Masaka Road. At least 4,000 soldiers are deployed in Eastern DR Congo to hunt ADF rebels.
