Two tourists on their honeymoon and their guide have been killed in a terrorist attack in Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park, according to authorities. The attackers set their vehicle on fire after the killings. The victims were from the UK, South Africa, and Uganda. Islamist group, Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), said to be affiliated with ISIS, are believed to have carried out the attack. The group’s main operations are in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, but it has its roots in Uganda. The governments of both Uganda and DRC have recently increased efforts to combat the group.
Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni, expressed his condolences and said the Ugandan High Commission in the UK would provide support to the families of the couple. “We have registered a cowardly terrorist attack on two foreign tourists and a Ugandan in Queen Elizabeth National Park. The three were killed, and their safari vehicle burnt,” said police spokesperson, Fred Enanga. The police are pursuing suspected rebels of the ADF group.
The country’s wildlife authority stated that all parks remain open, but urged the public to be patient and allow the investigative process to proceed. The UK’s Foreign Office has updated its travel advice for Uganda, warning that the attackers remain at large, and advised tourists in the park to stay put overnight. On the same day as the attack, Ugandan police foiled a plot to bomb churches in the country’s central Butambala district, which had been allegedly planned by militants affiliated with ADF.
The brutal attack casts a spotlight on the continuing insecurity that plagues the African region. Nonetheless, Uganda is set to welcome British Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab on his five-country tour of the continent. Raab proclaimed a “new era of UK partnerships” with Africa, pledging that the UK would “work side-by-side with African partners to tackle the challenges of today and tomorrow
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