Four kidnappers stopped a group of tourists at gunpoint around dusk on Tuesday as they drove through the Queen Elizabeth National Park to see wild animals.
KAMPALA - Ugandan security forces are hunting gunmen who abducted an American tourist and her driver inside a national park close to the border with Democratic Republic of Congo, police said on Wednesday.
"The kidnappers, using the victim's phone, have demanded $500,000," police spokesperson Polly Namaye said a statement. "We strongly believe this ransom is the reason behind the kidnap." "Joint security teams have cut off all exit areas on the border between Uganda and the DRC in search for the victims," she added.
Numerous militia groups and armed gangs roam eastern DR Congo. Virunga suspended all tourism activities last year after a ranger was killed and two British tourists kidnapped. The park reopened in February.The Ugandan park straddles the equator, covering 1,978 square kilometres in the country's south west.
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