South Africa shrugs off terror attack warnings

South African officials are trying to quell panic in the country after several Western nations issued warnings about possible high-level terror attacks against foreigners and major tourist attractions.

“We remain a strong and stable democratic country and there is no immediate danger posed by the alerts,” South Africa’s state security minister, David Mahlobo, said in a statement.

The United Kingdom and Australia on Monday issued warnings about possible attacks targeting South African shopping areas and malls in Johannesburg and Cape Town. The United States issued a similar warning on Saturday, calling on its citizens in South Africa to remain alert. The announcement comes as Islamic State urged its followers to launch terror attacks globally during the Ramadan season that began this month.

But South Africa downplayed the alert and assured the public its security forces are capable of keeping people safe, including foreigners.

The government’s tactic could be aimed at preventing more problems, said Martin Ewi, a counterterrorism expert with the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria, South Africa.

“I think to some extent, the government’s declaration about no feasible threat is mainly to calm the public and mitigate the state of panic that is going on,” Ewi said. “The panic itself can cause its own problems, and it’s really not good for security.”

U.S. officials issued similar terror alerts for South Africa in 2009 and 2015, but no attack happened. South Africa has not been affected by the terror that has plagued other African nations. Ewi credited this success partly to the country’s neutral stance and lack of involvement in the international battle against terror groups. By contrast, Kenya has faced more attacks from extremist group al-Shabaab since it began sending forces to Somalia to combat the terror group.

But South Africa is becoming increasingly vulnerable to terrorism, said Jasmine Opperman, Africa director for the Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium (TRAC). According to a TRAC analysis, an estimated 20 to 50 people, including whole families, have left to join Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria. Aljazeera reported 11 people, including three children, returned to South Africa in September. With the growing threat, Ewi said security and intelligence officials in South Africa should take preventive measures in response to the terror alerts.

“Once this information is shared, it is really a question for security agencies to step up, do their work, raise the alert status to the extent that every arm of government is taking the next measure to protect this country,” Ewi said.