The United States Department of State has warned its citizens against travelling to 23 countries classified under its highest travel advisory category, Level 4: Do Not Travel.
The department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs issued the warning in a post on its official Facebook page on Monday, citing security concerns and the US government’s limited ability to provide assistance to Americans in the affected countries.
“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 said.
The 23 countries listed under the advisory 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.
The US State Department operates a four-tier travel advisory system to guide American citizens on the safety of international destinations.
Level 1 advises travellers to exercise normal precautions, while Level 2 recommends increased caution. Level 3 urges travellers to reconsider their trips, while Level 4 is the highest classification and advises against all travel to designated destinations.
The department urged Americans to consult destination-specific travel advisories before making international travel arrangements.
Travellers can access the advisories through its official website, travel.state.gov/destination.
