KAMPALA - Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Wednesday condemned a "cowardly" attack in a wildlife park that he said killed a honeymooning couple, and vowed the assailants would pay with their lives.
Police said a Briton and a South African were killed along with their Ugandan guide in Tuesday's attack, which has been blamed on an armed militia based in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.
The trio were targeted by gunmen as they were on safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park in southwestern Uganda and their vehicle set ablaze, police and park officials said.
"It was a cowardly act on the part of the terrorists attacking innocent civilians and tragic for the couple who were newlyweds and visiting Uganda on their honeymoon," Museveni said on X, formerly Twitter.
"Of course, these terrorists will pay with their own wretched lives."
In the aftermath of the killings, the British government issued a warning to its citizens against travelling to the popular park, a tourist magnet where lions are known for their unusual ability to climb trees.
Police blamed the attack on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebel militia that is affiliated to the so-called Islamic State group.
Museveni called on Uganda's army and other security forces to ensure that "these mistakes do not happen again and that the ADF is wiped out".
"The terrorists will be defeated like (Joseph) Kony was defeated," he added, referring to the fugitive leader of the notorious Lord's Resistance Army, which terrorised parts of central Africa for more than three decades.