Avoid Somalia

This item appears on page 19 of the March 2010 issue.

The Department of State warns against all travel to Somalia. On Sept. 17, 2009, terrorists launched a suicide-bomb attack on an African Union peacekeeping base. On Dec. 3, a suicide bomber killed 24 people during a graduation ceremony for Banadir University medical students in Mogadishu.

Terrorist operatives have shown their capability to attack air operations at the Mogadishu airport.

Kidnapping, murder, illegal roadblocks, banditry and other violent incidents and threats to foreigners can occur in many regions. Interclan and interfactional fighting flares up with little warning. Armed conflicts among rival militias are prevalent in southern Somalia, particularly around Mogadishu, and have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Somali nationals and the displacement of nearly one million people.