A court in Uganda has charged a man with terrorism along with other offences over the killing last month of two tourists and their guide.<\/p>\n
Abdul Rashid Kyoto is allegedly a commander in the Islamic State-linked Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) militia.<\/p>\n
He is accused of killing a honeymoon couple from the UK and South Africa and their Ugandan guide in an attack in a national park on 17 October.<\/p>\n
Mr Kyoto made no comment when the charges were read out.<\/p>\n
He will be asked to plead once the case reaches the High Court, which is where murder and terrorism trials are heard.<\/p>\n
British citizen David Barlow, his South African wife Emmaretia Geyer and Ugandan Eric Alyai were shot dead on a visit to see the wildlife at the Queen Elizabeth National Park. Their vehicle was also burnt.<\/p>\n
The attack was blamed on the ADF, which has a presence in western Uganda, but mostly operates in the eastern part of neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.<\/p>\n
The two countries have intensified operations targeting the group in recent months.<\/p>\n
But on Monday, it was blamed for the killing of 19 people and the kidnapping of several others in the east of DR Congo.<\/p>\n
Among the charges against My Kyoto approved by Uganda’s director of public prosecutions were two of terrorism, three of murder and one of belonging to a terrorist organisation.<\/p>\n
Pictures from the magistrate’s court in eastern Uganda show him dressed in a white tunic, or kanzu, and walking with the aid of a crutch under his right arm.<\/p>\n
He was arrested last week in an army operation on Lake Edward, on the border between Uganda and DR Congo.<\/p>\n
“Two of his associates were shot dead and others managed to escape in a boat with their weapons,” a statement from the prosecution authority said.<\/p>\n
The ADF has staged several attacks in Uganda in recent years.<\/p>\n
In June, a group of ADF fighters attacked a school in western Uganda, killing nearly 40 pupils.<\/p>\n
The group was created in western Uganda in the 1990s and took up arms, alleging government persecution of Muslims.<\/p>\n
Muslims make up almost 14% of the Ugandan population, according to official figures, though the Ugandan Muslim Supreme Council estimates the figure is closer to 35%.<\/p>\n
Some members of Uganda’s Muslim community say they face discrimination in public life, such as in education and the workplace.<\/p>\n
After defeat by the Ugandan army in 2001, the ADF relocated to North Kivu province in DR Congo.<\/p>\n