DID CIA FAIL AGAIN?
By Simon Ateba
The United States government warned on October 26 that terrorists may be planning to attack Johannesburg in South Africa on October 29.
The government also announced on October 24 that there was an elevated risk of terror attacks in Nigeria, specifically in Abuja, and that the U.S. Embassy will offer reduced services until further notice.
In South Africa, the U.S. Embassy released a security alert that said, “The U.S. government has received information that terrorists may be planning to conduct an attack targeting large gatherings of people at an unspecified location in the greater Sandton area of Johannesburg, South Africa, on 29 October 2022.
There is no further information regarding the timing, method, or target of the potential attack.”
The U.S. Embassy advised staff to avoid crowds of people and other large public gatherings in the greater Sandton area of Johannesburg during the weekend of 29-30 October 2022.
In Nigeria, the U.S. Embassy in Abuja said “Targets may include, but are not limited to, government buildings, places of worship, schools, markets, shopping malls, hotels, bars, restaurants, athletic gatherings, transport terminals, law enforcement facilities, and international organizations.”
The State Department also commented on the possible terror attack in Nigeria during a press briefing in Washington D.C. on October 26.
“There’s not much that I can say beyond what the embassy has released publicly,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said when asked to provide further assessment of the risk.
“And yesterday, Mission Nigeria distributed and posted online a security alert stating that there is, quote, “an elevated risk of terror attacks in Nigeria, specifically in Abuja.”
“The embassy there will offer reduced services until further notice. We take our responsibility when it comes to providing timely, accurate information to the American citizen community there and everywhere around the world very seriously.
“We take seriously our commitment to have no double standard when there is information available to us. In this case, we provided timely notification of the security alert and the fact that the embassy will be offering reduced services for the time being,” Price said.
The U.S. Embassy in Abuja urged Americans to avoid all non-essential travel or movement, stay alert and avoid crowds.
They should also carry proper identification and review their personal security plans and keep their cell phones charged in case of an emergency.
Despite those security alerts, the bomb attacks the U.S. warned may take place in South Africa on October 29 occurred in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu that same day, killing over 100 people and wounding more than 300 others.
Somalian President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud announced that at least 100 people were killed and more than 300 others were wounded by the two car bombs in Mogadishu.
He said that the people who were massacred “included mothers with their children in their arms, fathers who had medical conditions, students who were sent to study, businessmen who were struggling with the lives of their families.”
It was the deadliest attacks to rock Somalia since 2017 when a truck bomb killed over 500 people at the same location.
Simon Ateba is Chief White House Correspondent for Today News Africa covering President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. government, UN, IMF, World Bank and other financial and international institutions in Washington and New York.