East African Council of Ministers on Wednesday called for the region to be on high alert over the possibility of terrorist attacks such the ones witnessed in the Ugandan capital Kampala last week.
The Council of Ministers raised this concern at the Extra-Ordinary Council of Ministers meeting held in Arusha.
Ezekiel Niyibigira, the Burundian Foreign Affairs Minister in EAC said there are many possibilities of similar attacks in the region.
“Yesterday it happened in Uganda but tomorrow it may happen in another country as it happened in countries of our community like Kenya,” he said.
Niyibigira called for improved relations among member countries to foster peace and security in the region.
“Burundi made an effort to help Rwanda when terrorists who were preparing to attack Rwanda were arrested and handed over to Kigali two times. Rwanda also handed over terrorists who attacked Burundi. This is very good progress we are making” he said.
Earlier this month Rwanda handed 19 armed men to Burundi.
They were suspected of launching raids inside Burundi before fleeing to neighboring Rwanda.
Ugandan lawmaker George Odongo, swapping captured insurgents between countries in the region is a positive move toward improved relations that has to be maintained.
He said building relations is not a luxury but an important part of the process of integration for East African member countries.
“We should guide ourselves in the direction of normalizing our relations between EAC countries because we can’t sit here and remain silent. It is not normal; it is wrong” he warned.
Last month, some arrests were made over an alleged plot “to punish Rwanda for its military intervention in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique”.
Rwanda deployed troops in the troubled Mozambican province in March to help government troops flush out Islamist insurgents blamed for a spate of deadly attacks in the area.
CU/as/APA