Malls tighten security after terror warnings

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As a result of the warnings major malls in Johannesburg and Cape Town have upped their security and say they are consulting closely with the police and State Security.

The Muslim Judicial Council has warned that the increased security could strain relations between Muslims and others. It has urged US authorities to "back up" their claims.

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On Saturday the US diplomatic mission to South Africa cautioned that Islamic State had called on its followers to carry out terror attacks during Ramadan. It warned that shopping malls in Cape Town and Johannesburg that were frequented by US citizens would be the likely targets.

The response of South Africans to the warnings has been mixed. A straw poll of Times Live readers yesterday found that 39.14% would avoid malls and tourist attractions. The rest said they were "not worried".

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• Travel and tourist industry representatives refused to comment, but one source said he was "aware of US tourists who had cancelled trips to South Africa".

Cynthia Harvey, a spokesman for the US embassy in Pretoria, would not divulge how Americans in South Africa had reacted to the terror alert.

"Protection of US citizens overseas is among our top priorities. When we receive specific, credible, non-counterable threat information, it is our worldwide policy for US embassies and consulates to share the information. We are co-operating with local authorities, as we do in any investigation into terrorist threats around the world," said Harvey.

UK high commission spokesman Isabel Potgieter said: "When we updated our travel advice for our citizens for South Africa on May20 we issued advice that there is a high threat of terrorism in the country."

But she said Britons had not been advised against travelling to South Africa.

"The issuing of travel advisories is done regularly. It is objective and is part of our consular responsibility towards British nationals, not only in South Africa but globally."

Australian officials issued a "high degree of caution" warning to their citizens on Saturday after the US's terror alert was issued.

State Security Minister David Mahlobo said: "We remain a strong and stable democratic country and there is no immediate danger posed by the alerts."

But some security experts have questioned South Africa's ability to deal with such a threat.

Unisa criminologist Rudolph Zinn said it was impossible to guarantee against a terror attack.

"The people who commit such offences are well-organised and set up in a country some time before such attacks take place.

"Unfortunately, because of the complete disarray of the police crime intelligence structures, our ability to detect and deal with such crime intelligence would most probably have been compromised," said Zinn.

Martin Ewi, senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies, had the opposite view, saying South Africa had good co-operation with US authorities.

"Our security officials should be able to prevent any of the potential attacks," said Ewi.

"South Africa has some of the best-trained counter-terrorism officers."

Mahlobo's assurances came as cold comfort for the Muslim Judicial Council. The council's spokesman, Nabeweya Malick, said the alerts were an injustice to certain religious groups in South Africa and placed the Muslim community in a difficult position.

"Far too many times people have lost their lives because of such and other claims. The US needs to back up its claims with evidence," said Malick.

She said the council strongly condemned IS and its call for attacks during Ramadan, when millions of Muslims around the world fast from sunrise to sunset for a month.

"[IS] does not represent Islam or the global Muslim community," said Malick. Political analyst Keith Gottschalk said the announcements have triggered some public anxiety. "In a place like the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, tourists can't be subjected to the airport-type search of all their luggage and themselves. So there is always a level of risk," said Gottschalk.

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