The United States has placed 11 African countries on its highest travel advisory, warning its citizens not to visit.
The countries are Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, Mali, Niger, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.
The advisory was issued under Level 4, labelled “Do Not Travel,” which is the strongest warning in the US Department of State’s four-level system.
According to the State Department, the warning was issued due to a combination of risks including terrorism, armed conflict, kidnapping, violent crime, civil unrest and health emergencies.
It also warned that the US government may have limited or no ability to provide emergency assistance to its citizens in some of the affected countries.
Sudan and Libya were singled out, as the US currently has no functional embassy to assist Americans there, while consular services for Somalia are being handled from Nairobi.
The department noted that the Level 4 tag does not mean conditions are the same across all 11 countries, but that non-essential travel should be avoided.
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