BREAKING: Two explosions shake Ugandan capital

(File Photo) A crime scene following a bomb blast is secured by the Ugandan police in Kampala on October 24, 2021. Badru KATUMBA / AFP

Two explosions ripped through Uganda's capital Kampala on Tuesday, hurting several people in what police described as an "attack" on the city, the latest in a succession of bombings around the country.

"What we can say is that this was an attack," Uganda's Assistant Inspector General of Police Edward Ochom told AFP.

"The explosions occurred near the Central Police Station and another near the Parliament entrance, both in the central business district," he added, adding that the injured had been transported to a hospital.

The explosion near the police station smashed glass, while the blast at the parliament's entrance caused neighboring automobiles to catch fire, he added.

"A team has been dispatched," Uganda Red Cross spokeswoman Irene Nakasiita told AFP.

Kyle Spencer, executive director of Uganda's Internet Exchange Point, told AFP that the explosions caused panic among many individuals nearby.

"The road to parliament is blocked off, people are crying, and everyone else is fleeing these areas," he explained.

"Everyone is fleeing office buildings, and the buildings are locking their doors and refusing to let anyone in."

Parliament canceled Tuesday's session in the aftermath of the attacks, advising members to avoid the area "while security forces work diligently to restore order."

The strikes come on the heels of two explosions earlier this month — a bus explosion outside Kampala that injured numerous people and a bombing at a roadside diner in the capital that killed one woman.

According to police, both of those attacks occurred last month and were carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). Additionally, they cautioned that extremists were suspected of organizing a significant new attack.

The ADF, formerly a Ugandan rebel group, has been charged with murdering thousands of civilians in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The US officially tied the ADF to the Islamic State organization in March.

Publish : 2021-11-16 15:08:00

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