Security concerns as Pope Francis makes first Africa tour

Security forces are readying for Pope Francis' three-nation Africa tour this week amid fears of jihadist attacks and violence, with authorities insisting the pontiff's trip can pass off peacefully.

The five-day visit to Kenya, Uganda and Central African Republic (CAR), which have significant Catholic communities but have been troubled by civil conflicts and violence, has led to increased security concerns.

Authorities plan to deploy around 10,000 police in the capitals of Kenya and Uganda during the pope's visit, which will include giant open-air masses.

Nairobi and Kampala are both targets for Al-Qaeda's East Africa branch, the Shebab, because they have troops deployed in Somalia.

"All the arrangements are in place," Kenyan police chief Joseph Boinett said ahead of the visit, which starts on Wednesday.

Kenya has suffered Shebab gun attacks on a university in Garissa in April, in which 148 people died, and on a mall in Nairobi in 2013 when at least 67 were killed. 

In both cases, Christians were specifically targeted. In Uganda, Shebab bombers killed 76 people in restaurant attacks in 2010 in Kampala.

In CAR, the United Nations said it will move hundreds of peacekeepers from Ivory Coast to bolster security for both the pope's trip and national elections due in late December. CAR has been ensnared in civil war since 2013, with the country split between Muslim and Christian populations.

The situation remains volatile in the country -- including in the capital Bangui where Francis is due to spend a little over 24 hours -- and the insecurity may cause the CAR leg of the pope's Africa tour to be cancelled.

"We will see on the basis of the situation on the ground at the time whether we go ahead," Vatican official Pietro Parolin told Catholic newspaper Avvenire last week.

Photo Caption: Pope Francis waves upon his arrival in St Peter's square at the Vatican, for his weekly general audience on September 9, 2015 (AFP Photo/Filippo Monteforte)