Somalia and Uganda successfully prevented terror attacks in their respective capital cities, the two East African nations announced on Monday.
The National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) of Somalia managed to thwart an al-Shabaab terrorist group attack planned for Mogadishu’s peace garden park, a popular location near the presidential palace, according to Somalia’s Information Ministry.
During the operation, intelligence officers seized suicide vests and an auto rickshaw that were intended to be used in the attack, the ministry added.
In Uganda, security operatives arrested six suspects who were found in possession of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) planned for use during anti-government protests in the capital city, Kampala.
Major Charles Kabona, spokesperson for the Uganda People’s Defense Force, stated that joint operations were carried out based on a tip-off received on Monday morning.
The planned nationwide demonstrations were organized by the Uganda Freedom Activists group to protest economic hardships and corruption in the country.
To prevent any potential unrest, security has been heightened in Kampala and its surroundings, with the police declaring the protest as “unlawful.”
At the scene of the arrests, the police disclosed that they had also seized items such as 12 wine bottles, charcoal dust, sugar, a jerrycan of petrol, matchboxes, a blasting cap, dynamite, and candlewick.
Both Somalia and Uganda have faced deadly attacks by the al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group al-Shabaab, which has been engaged in a long-standing conflict with Somalia’s government and African Union peacekeepers in the Horn of Africa since 2007.
