MOSCOW, March 9 (RIA Novosti) - The owner of the
Il-76 aircraft that crashed in Uganda earlier Monday said an
act of sabotage could be to blame for the crash that killed 11
people on board, Russia's Vesti TV channel reported on its
website.
The Il-76 owned by the Aerolift airline with cargos for
Somalia-based Ugandan peacekeepers fell down for unknown
reasons into Lake Victoria and sunk two minutes after taking
off from Entebbe International Airport.
The crew consisted of two Russians and two Ukrainians.
There were also two U.S. nationals, one South African, two
high-ranking military officers from Burundi and two officers
from Uganda. All are believed to have been killed.
The airline said the plane was reliable. "This could have
been an act of sabotage by activists of Islamist organizations
who support the war in Somalia," a spokesman said, adding that
there had been attempts of sabotage in Entebbe Airport earlier.
A total of 3,500 servicemen from Uganda and Burundi making
part of the African Union contingent are based in Somalia.
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