LONDON, England
The United Kingdom government
on Wednesday warned its citizens to avoid travel to a popular Ugandan park
where two tourists, including a Briton, and their local guide were killed in an
attack blamed on a notorious militia group.The wreckage of the car in which tourists were killed in
The trio were targeted on
Tuesday by gunmen as they were on safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park in
southwestern Uganda and their vehicle set on fire, police and park officials
said.
Britain's Foreign Office said
it "advises against all but essential travel" to the park, a tourist
magnet where lions are known for their unusual ability to climb trees.
"If you are able to do so
safely, you should consider leaving the area."
Uganda's wildlife authority
identified the two other victims as a South African holidaymaker and a Ugandan
guide.
Police blamed the attack on
the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a rebel militia based in the neighbouring
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that is affiliated to the so-called Islamic
State group.
"Our joint forces
responded immediately upon receiving the information and are aggressively
pursuing the suspected ADF rebels," police spokesman Fred Enanga said.
Queen Elizabeth Park shares a
border with DRC and its renowned Virunga National Park, a habitat for rare
mountain gorillas, and where armed groups are believed to operate.
In 2019, a US tourist and her
safari guide were kidnapped by four gunmen during an evening game drive through
the Ugandan park. They were recovered unharmed after a ransom was paid.
The ADF is historically a
Ugandan rebel coalition whose biggest group comprised Muslims opposed to
veteran President Yoweri Museveni.
Established in eastern DRC in
1995, the group became the deadliest of scores of outlawed forces in the deeply
troubled region.
It has been blamed for
massacres, kidnappings and looting, with a death toll estimated in the
thousands.
In June, ADF fighters killed
42 people including 37 students in a high school in western Uganda near the
border with DRC.
Tourism is a top foreign
exchange earner in Uganda, contributing almost 10 percent of GDP, according to
government figures.
Uganda's wildlife officials
said all parks will remain open despite Tuesday's attack.
No comments:
Post a Comment