February 2009

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As ITN went to press, the State Department had travel warnings on 28 destinations: Sri Lanka, Côte d’Ivoire, Georgia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Nepal, Pakistan, Eritrea, Somalia, Chad, Kenya, Yemen, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Israel/West Bank/Gaza, Iran, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Algeria, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Haiti, Burundi, Syria, Central African Republic and Philippines.

For details, call the State Department at 202/647-5225 or visit http://travel.state.gov/travel/warnings.html.

About 21,000 ships a year cross the Gulf of Aden, where there has been a sharp increase in pirate attacks on cargo ships plus four attempts on passenger ships recently.

In Thailand, on Dec. 2 the court banned the prime minister from politics for five years, over election fraud, and disbanded his governing party. On Dec. 3 the protesters who had blocked traffic at Bangkok’s airports since Nov. 25 left. Other protesters who had occupied the prime minister’s office for three months had left on Nov. 30.

The King endorsed the new prime minister and government on Dec. 16 after elections on Dec. 14. At press time, opposing parties had not yet sorted out power-sharing agreements, but the frequency of marches and protests was decreasing.

After the death of the president of Guinea, General Lansana Conte, on Dec. 23, a military junta of young army officers staged a successful bloodless coup. They promised to fight corruption and graft, improve living conditions and in two years hold free elections. A 32-man council was appointed, with mostly military representatives but also six civilians.

During the last two years of the president Conte’s 24-year presidency, there were frequent strikes, riots and street protests over high food and fuel prices.

The Department of State reported that the November 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai, India, killed 170 persons (including six Americans and 16 other non-Indians) and injured 300. It adds that public places frequented by Westerners may be targeted in the future.

The US Mission is concerned that increased political tension between Pakistan and India may further complicate travel in areas near their already-sensitive border.

Travelers should factor in extra time for increased security, especially at hotels and airports.

Those traveling in Egypt’s northern Sinai, north of the Cairo-Nekhl-Taba road, should be aware of tensions there between Bedouins and Egyptian security forces.

Protesting mistreatment by the police, the Bedouins have demonstrated regularly over the last couple of years, and on Nov. 11, 2008, when a local was shot and killed by a policeman, violent clashes broke out, 80 policemen were temporarily abducted and three more Bedouins were killed.

Due to recent armed conflicts, kidnappings, armed robberies and the continued presence of Al-Qaeda in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the Department of State recommends avoiding all travel to northern Mali.

Areas of particular concern include the Mali-Niger and Mali-Algeria borders, the Kidal region and areas north of Timbuktu. 

The Department of State warns against travel to Nigeria.

Rival ethnic groups have clashed violently in Delta state around Warri city and in North-Central Plateau state, and occasionally tension between some Muslim and Christian communities results in violence, though Americans have not been directly targeted; the states of Kano and Kaduna are particularly volatile. In Jos, Plateau state, the first local election in a decade sparked ethnic and religious clashes which left more than 300 people dead, Nov. 30-Dec. 1.