January
27, 2011 5:42:47 PM
* Britons told to be vigilant during
AU summit in Ethiopia
* Follows Australia's warning of
possible bomb attacks
LONDON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Britain
amended its travel advice for Ethiopia on Thursday after the Australian foreign
ministry warned that militants were planning bomb attacks on Addis Ababa during
an African Union summit starting this week.
The British Foreign Office told its
citizens to be vigilant, especially in crowded areas, such as bus stations, and
places frequented by foreigners, including hotels, restaurants and bars.
"Due to the African Union
Summit taking place in Addis Ababa between 27 and 31 January 2011 there may be
an increased security threat to the city," it said on its website.
"Visitors should take extra
precautions during these dates."
The overall level of advice was
unchanged.
Australia's Department of Foreign
Affairs and Trade updated its travel advice for Ethiopia on its website on
Tuesday to include the following warning:
"According to credible
information, extremists are planning to bomb unspecified locations within Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia, during the Africa Union Summit."
No further information was
immediately available, but a Western diplomat in Addis Ababa said the
information his colleagues had was that Somali militants might be planning
attacks on the city.
Authorities in the African country
have been on alert since late 2008 following information about plans to carry
out a terrorist attack within their borders, the UK website said.
Ethiopia invaded Somalia in late
2006 to oust an Islamist administration based in the capital Mogadishu, driving
the Islamists into southern Somalia, where they regrouped and launched an
insurgency against the new government.
Ethiopia withdrew its troops in
early 2009, but the insurgency is still raging, with the AU providing support
for the government.
Al Shabaab, the biggest militant
group in Somalia, has carried out attacks outside its own country in the past.
In July 2010, the group said it had
carried out two bomb attacks in Uganda, killing 74 soccer fans watching the
soccer World Cup final on television in a restaurant and a rugby club in the
capital Kampala.
(Writing by Avril Ormsby)
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