SA rejects US terror attack alert

THE United States embassy in Pretoria has doubled down on its terror warning, saying there was “specific, credible, non-counterable threat information” of a potential attack in Sandton, Johannesburg this weekend.

“The US 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,” the Embassy said in an alert on its website.

Yesterday, the South African government said it was displeased with the “disingenuous” way some countries had issued alerts to their nationals in South Africa about possible attacks on upscale venues where these nationals might congregate in South Africa, especially shopping malls, in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

Pretoria announced that it had “demarched” the countries which had issued the terror alerts.

The US embassy first issued an alert on Saturday, followed by both the UK and Australian embassies updating their travel alerts to their citizens travelling to South Africa.

A demarche involves calling in the ambassadors of the countries concerned to be reprimanded by a government minister or senior government official.

Yesterday, the South Africa’s State Security Agency and the Department of International Relations and Co-operation said the information on which the terror alert had been issued had been “very sketchy … dubious, unsubstantiated and provided by a “walk-in” source based on questionable conclusions”.

It added that “the South African government rejects attempts by foreign countries to influence, manipulate or control our country’s counter terrorism work. We reject attempts to generate perceptions of government ineptude, alarmist impressions and public hysteria on the basis of a questionable single source.

“The South African government is fully capable of securing our country, protecting our people and taking care of the safety of foreign citizens on our soil. We expect foreign embassies on our soil to follow the correct channels when communicating matters of such nature”.

However, Cindy Harvey, spokesperson for the US embassy, emphasised yesterday what she had said on Saturday, that “when we receive specific, credible, non-counterable threat information, it is our worldwide policy for US embassies and consulates to share the information. We are co-operating with local authorities, as we do in any investigation into terrorist threats around the world”.