The United States Department of State has warned its citizens against travelling to 23 countries classified under its highest security alert, Level 4: Do Not Travel, citing dangerous conditions and limited ability to provide emergency assistance.
The warning, issued by the department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs in a post on its official Facebook page on Monday, urged Americans to avoid the affected destinations regardless of their reasons for travelling.
The countries listed are Afghanistan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Burma, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Niger, North Korea, Russia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Uganda, Ukraine and Yemen.
Explaining the advisory, the department said the highest warning category was reserved for countries where security threats, prevailing local conditions or restrictions on US government assistance posed serious risks to American citizens.
“Level 4 means DO NOT TRAVEL. We assign Level 4 based on local conditions and/or our limited ability to help Americans there. These places are dangerous. Do not go for ANY reason,” the department stated.
The State Department operates a four-level travel advisory system to help Americans assess security risks before travelling abroad.
Level 1 advises citizens to exercise normal precautions, while Level 2 recommends increased caution because of potential risks.
Level 3 urges travellers to reconsider their plans, while Level 4 represents the highest warning, advising Americans against all travel to designated countries.
The department also encouraged citizens to check its official travel advisory website for country-specific security updates and other relevant information before making international travel arrangements.
Americans can access the advisories through travel.state.gov/destination.
