Nigeria Content Online

Africa’s
porous borders mean it will be difficult to prevent attacks elsewhere
in the region like Sunday’s twin bombings in Kampala that killed 73
people, U.S. ambassador to Uganda Jerry Lanier said on Wednesday.

The deadly
explosions in Uganda were claimed by the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab
group. If confirmed, it would be the first time the Somali rebels had
carried out a long-standing threat to attack their enemies in other
countries.

“Suicide bombers
are very difficult to stop in any country and we know that African
borders tend to be more porous than other countries,” Lanier told
Reuters.

“The Ugandans, I’m
sure, were taking measures they thought were adequate, but it is just
very difficult to prevent these kinds of attacks,” he said.

Lanier said it was
‘entirely possible’ that other countries in the region threatened by al
Shabaab, such as Burundi, Ethiopia and Kenya, could face similar
attacks.

“It has awakened
the region to the threat. Because of the multiple threats we’ve all
heard in the past … this gives some reality to that threat,” he said.

The ambassador said
Washington was prepared to step up its support for Uganda in the wake
of the attacks, adding that more FBI agents would arrive on Wednesday
and Thursday to join the three already helping the investigation.

“We will see what (Uganda’s) needs are and go from that,” he said, citing financial and logistical support as likely.

Lanier said the
attacks may have been designed to scare off those countries in the
region that have at times promised to increase their role in Somalia
and join Uganda and Burundi in providing troops on the ground.

“It is perhaps what
al Shabaab were seeking, to intimidate countries that might otherwise
be a part of AMISOM (the African Union force in Somalia), who might
want to participate with Uganda in the struggle against al Shabaab.”
The troubled Horn of Africa nation has been brought to its knees by the
three-year insurgency, as Islamist rebels have battled the U.N.-backed
Somali government, which is supported by the 8,100-strong African Union
force.

Last week, the
regional bloc IGAD promised to send an extra 2,000 peacekeepers to help
resist the insurgency in Somalia, where at least 21,000 people have
died in the fighting and some 1.5 million have been driven from their
homes.

Al Shabaab enforces its own strict interpretation of Islam, routinely banning sport, music and dancing.

Reuters