Kampala — Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Aronda Nyakairima threw his weight behind the police's alerts of possible terrorist attacks in the country and said yesterday that the country is a target of reprisal attacks especially because of Uganda's peacekeeping mission in Somalia.

Gen. Aronda warned the public to take the terror alerts issued by the police seriously, telling reporters at a press briefing at the Ministry of Defence Headquarters in Kampala that intelligence reports gathered from security agencies outside Uganda had suggested that the country is under threat.

"We have colleagues who share information with us," said Gen. Aronda. "I agree with the alerts. It is good so that everybody is on the look out."

The CDF said internal vigilance in the country was necessary, "so that we do not wake up to news that 200 people have died. We don't want to see what we have seen in Bombay and in New York."

Gen. Aronda, however, admitted that the army had played no role in detailing the threat posed by the suspected terrorists, and said "In this one, we are not in it. This is police and intelligence activity."

Issued on October 2, only a week shy to celebrations to mark the country's 47th Independence day anniversary, the police warned of "planned terrorist attacks in the country by suspected enemies of peace and development", and said popular social scenes, entertainment areas, worshiping centres, shopping centres, markets, fuel depots and stations were some of the target areas of attack.

Although no attacks have been recorded since, Gen. Aronda said the threat imposed by terrorist groups in Somalia with ties to the Al-Qaida cannot be underestimated.

"We are in Somalia and there are two groups fighting the Alshabab and Hezbola Islamists. There is an Al-Qaida element in Somalia so what if they say if you [peacekeepers] have defeated us in Mogadishu, let us come to your country," said Gen. Aronda. African Union peacekeepers in Somalia, who include UPDF soldiers have been victims of terror attacks in the war torn country.

The army chief was addressing a news conference ahead of this week's special African Union Summit on refugees, returnees and internally displaced persons in Africa scheduled to take place in Kampala.

He said Uganda's handling of internally displaced person and the country's torrid journey to the restoration of peace in east and northern Uganda following two decades of conflict with rebels of the Lords Resistance Army could have inspired the AU in selecting the country as host for the high profile meeting.