FULL LIST: US warns citizens against travel to 23 countries

n n

The United States Department of State has placed 23 countries on its highest-risk travel advisory, Level 4, urging Americans to avoid all travel to these destinations for any reason.

n

In an updated advisory sighted on Saturday from the country’s TravelGov X handle, the department stated that Level 4 is assigned to countries where local conditions are considered dangerous or where the US government’s ability to assist its citizens is limited.

n

“We issue Travel Advisories with Levels 1–4. Level 4 means DO NOT TRAVEL. We assign Level 4 based on local conditions and/or our limited ability to help Americans there,” the department said in the notice posted on Thursday.

n

It added, “These places are dangerous. Do not go for ANY reason.”

n

The 11 African countries on the Level 4 list are Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libya, Mali, Niger, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.

n

The latest advisory comes months after the State Department retained Nigeria at Level 3: Reconsider Travel, while designating several Nigerian states as Level 4: Do Not Travel due to security concerns.

n

Level 4 states that U.S. citizens are urged to avoid include, in the North, Borno, Jigawa, Kogi, Kwara, Niger, Plateau, Taraba, Yobe, and northern Adamawa states.

n

In South-South and South-East are Abia, Anambra, Bayelsa, Delta, Enugu, Imo, and Rivers states (excluding Port Harcourt).

n

According to the advisory, Americans are urged to reconsider travel to Nigeria because of crime, terrorism, kidnapping, civil unrest and inconsistent healthcare services, while travel to designated Level 4 states is strongly discouraged.

n

Reacting to the tags, the Nigerian government described the US decision as a “routine precaution guided by internal protocols” which does not reflect the country’s situation.

n

Minister of information, Mohammed Idris, said while there are “isolated security challenges” in Nigeria, there is no breakdown of law and order, noting that the country remains stable.

n n