Uganda steps up security after Kenya mall attack: army

Uganda Steps Up Security After Kenya Mall Attack: Army

KAMPALA | Mon Sep 23, 2013 9:53am EDT

(Reuters) - Uganda, which like Kenya has sent troops to fight Islamist militants in Somalia, said on Monday it had stepped up security after a raid by Somali-linked gunmen on a Kenyan shopping mall that killed at least 68 people.
The last big attack by Somalia's al Shabaab, which has claimed responsibility for the Nairobi attack, was a double bombing in Uganda in 2010, targeting people watching the soccer World Cup final on television in Kampala, killing 77 people.

 

"We have generally stepped up security across the board in terms of streamlining border security so that we plug all the loopholes at entry points that could be potentially exploited by these characters," said Ugandan army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Paddy Ankunda when asked about Uganda's response.
There was no obvious sign of heightened security at two of the capital's main shopping malls, beyond the usual checks by private security personnel.
"We have strengthened our cooperation with our neighboring countries in intelligence sharing and all other ways in which we can collaborate to defeat these terrorists," Ankunda added.
(Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)copy http://www.reuters.com