US closes South African embassy over security threat

JOHANNESBURG – The United States shut its embassy and other American government offices in South Africa yesterday due to an undisclosed security threat, but police said the situation was under control.

South African Police Commissioner Bheki Cele did not give details of the threat and said he could not rule out the possibility of a hoax while investigations continued.’It is under control,’ he told reporters in Cape Town.’The threat might be genuine itself or the threat might not exist, it might be a hoax. If our investigation puts some concrete steps that we must follow, there will be arrests,’ he said, adding that police were pursuing some people.A US embassy spokeswoman said it was the first time in a decade the offices had been closed due to a security threat.South Africa, due to host the soccer World Cup finals next year, is not itself seen as a target for terrorists.Somali rebels have vowed to avenge the killing last week of one of the continent’s most wanted al Qaeda suspects in a raid by US commandos, but there has been no previous link between Somali insurgents and South Africa.Bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 killed 224 people and wounded thousands.A State Department spokesman in Washington said the US government was warning American citizens to be extra vigilant while near US government facilities in South Africa.As well as the embassy, there are US consulates in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. In addition to the embassy and consulates, there are also other U.S. government offices, including that of USAID. – Nampa-Reuters