UK issues terror Alert on Malawi

The United Kingdom (UK) Government has issued an alert that terrorists could launch attacks in the country, but urged citizens not to panic.

However, the Ministry of Homeland Security says it is not aware of the threats.

Issued on its website www.gov.uk as foreign travel advice to its citizens, the UK connects the intelligence to threats across the world against its interest.

The advice reads: “Terrorists are likely to try to carry out attacks in Malawi… There’s a heightened threat of terrorist attack globally against UK interests and British nationals, from groups or individuals motivated by the conflict in Iraq and Syria. You should be vigilant at this time.”

British High Commissioner David Beer confirmed the development and said the update was made on Wednesday.

“We can confirm that on 30 March we updated our Travel Advice for Malawi following a regular review of terrorism risks. We do not advise against travel to any part of Malawi. See gov.uk for further details,” he said.

Beer said the safety of British nationals abroad is a major concern for the UK Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO), adding: “We, therefore, attach great importance to providing information about personal safety and security overseas, including an assessment of the threat from terrorism, to enable people to make informed decisions about travel.”

He stressed that the alert follows a regular review of terrorism risks, and that they are not advising against travel to any part of Malawi.

Meanwhile, Minister of Homeland Security Jean Sendeza has said she will engage the British High Commissioner to discuss the matter.

In an interview yesterday, the minister said she had just learned about the issue through social media.

Said Sendeza: “I just read this on social media. But since this is a security matter, it cannot be discussed in the media.

“I will be talking to the High Commissioner so that I get more information from the British High Commission on what exactly they are saying.”

The Nation checks last evening established that there were no such threats recorded with the local United Nations (UN) office, both internally and externally.

“The local UN system depends on its Department of Safety and Security which would normally issue a notification internally, but as of now, we have received no such alert,” said a source who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Nation check on the website and other online platform the United States of America Embassy in Lilongwe also showed there was no such alert recorded or reported.

Futher searches on the link suggested it was a general notice, but tailored for individual jurisdictions.

In June 2021, Malawi signed a pact with Rwanda aimed at strengethening the two countries’ safety and security.

Inspector General of Police George Kainja said at the time that the two countries had agreed on joint strategies to fight transnational organised crimes and Islamist terrorist groups.

Recently, Islamist terrorist groups raided neighbouring Mozambique province of Cabo Delgado, prompting the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), currently chaired by President Lazarus Chakwera, to hold an extraordinary summit aimed at strengthening security in the region.