US Terror Alert Causes Unease in South Africa

The U.S. Embassy in South Africa has issued a rare warning of a possible terror attack this coming weekend in Sandton, an upmarket business district of Johannesburg sometimes dubbed “Africa’s richest square mile.” South Africa’s president has criticized the U.S. for putting out the alert and causing “panic” without first consulting the government. The Johannesburg neighborhood of Sandton is one of the wealthiest areas in Africa, home to luxury boutiques, upmarket restaurants and major international corporations. So it was a shock to many South Africans when the U.S. Embassy issued an alert Wednesday saying “The U.S. 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.” The embassy did not give any detail as to who’s believed to be behind the threat or the exact target or expected method of attack. It advised its staff to avoid the area over the weekend, with the attack believed to be planned for Saturday.

SOURCE: VOA