Kampala: The United Kingdom government has warned its citizens to avoid Queen Elizabeth National Park where two tourists including a Briton and their local guide were murdered on Tuesday by ADF rebels.
A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said: “We are providing consular assistance to the family of a British national following an incident at Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda. We are in close contact with the local authorities.
“British nationals in the area should follow our travel advice and contact us if they require assistance.”
According to security reports, the trio was targeted by gunmen as they were on safari in the Park and their vehicle was set ablaze. Britain’s Foreign Office has now advised its nationals against all but essential travels to the Park.
Uganda Police blamed the attack on ADF rebels based in the eastern jungles of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that is affiliated to the so-called Islamic State Group.
Queen Elizabeth shares a border with DRC and its renowned Virunga National Park, a habitat for rare Mountain Gorillas and where armed groups are believed to operate.
Meanwhile, tributes continue to pour in for the couple killed on Tuesday on their honeymoon. The couple has been named as David and Celia Barlow from Hampstead Norreys near Newbury in Berkshire. The village cricket club says they will be desperately missed while the parish council has called Barlow a pillar of the community. Richard Davis, a Church warden at St. Mary’s Church in Hampstead Norris was quoted by the BBC saying that the news is incomprehensible.
“We wake today with a heavy heart, and the deepest sorrow to hear the devastating news of the death of Dave and Celia Barlow,” Mr Davies said. “Words cannot express how to react to this dreadful news.”
Hampstead Norreys Parish Council described Mr Barlow, a British national, as an “exceptional chairman” who served the council for more than a decade.
This is not the first time tourists are being attacked in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
On 2nd April, 2019, An American tourist Kimberly Endicott and her guide Jean-Paul Mirenge were kidnapped by suspected terrorists at QENP. The government paid ransom for their release five days later.
The Tuesday attack comes fresh on the heels after President Museveni on Sunday said that security forces had foiled a bomb attack on Churches by ADF rebel group.
“The ADF made two bombs, which they were planning to plant in Churches in Kibibi, Butambala,” Museveni tweeted on X formerly Twitter, adding that the devices were reported to police and defused.