An Air Uganda flight to Sudan was diverted back to Kampala Saturday after the US embassy in Khartoum warned American travellers of a "potential threat" to commercial flights between Uganda and South Sudan. The plane had taken off from Entebbe airport and was on its way to Juba, the capital of South Sudan, when it was ordered to return as a precautionary step.
Ignie Igunduura, spokesman for Uganda's Civil Aviation Authority, said the plane had returned to Entebbe. "No captain would ignore a warning of this nature," Igunduura said. "We have heard this information before and we have been aware of this threat for some time.
"But any time there is renewed information, and this renewed information came from the US but also others, you don't start taking chances." A warden's message published on Friday on the US mission's website said the embassy "has received information indicating a desire by regional extremists to conduct a deadly attack onboard Air Uganda aircraft" between Kampala and Juba.
"While the capacity of these extremists to carry out such an attack is unknown, the threat is of sufficient seriousness that all American air travellers should be made aware. "Air travellers on any airline and route should maintain vigilance at all times, and should report any suspicious behaviour to the proper authorities."
The message gave no further details. It also said the State Department "continues to warn against all travel to Sudan, particularly in the Darfur area, where violence involving government forces, rebel factions and various armed militias continues. "American citizens who choose to travel to Sudan despite the existing Travel Warning, and those currently in Sudan, should review their security posture and take appropriate precautions."
As is routine, the message also encourages US citizens in Sudan to register with the embassy to "make it easier for the embassy or consulate to contact them in case of emergency." Sudan rejected any security threat as unfounded and criticised the United States embassy for not co-operating over the matter. "This threat is not serious, nothing supports these allegations," foreign ministry spokesman Moawiya Osman Khalid told AFP.
"They did not inform us of this security threat, we learnt about it from the embassy's website. They did not ask for our co-operation, which they should have done before notifying the media," he added. But Ugandan army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Felix Kulayigye said the security threat had existed for some time.
"We are surprised that the US embassy has issued this warning now, when they know very well that we have had this intelligence since early December," he said, adding that the threat is "most likely Somali-related." Uganda has troops in Somalia, a hotbed of Islamic radicalism, as part of the African Union peacekeepers protecting the embattled government of President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. Kulayige said the advisory was "unnecessary," adding that Uganda's military intelligence unit has been working for weeks with Air Uganda to step up security precautions on Juba bound flights.