The United States has placed 23 countries under its highest travel advisory level, urging American citizens not to visit them for any reason due to serious security risks and limited ability to provide assistance.
The US State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs issued the Level 4 “Do Not Travel” warnings, the most severe category in its four-tier system.
“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 in a statement published Monday.
The countries currently listed under Level 4 are Afghanistan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Burma (Myanmar), Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Niger, North Korea, Russia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Uganda, Ukraine and Yemen.
Level 4 advisories are issued when local conditions pose significant threats such as armed conflict, terrorism, civil unrest, crime or kidnapping, or when the US government has restricted capacity to assist its citizens in an emergency.
The State Department regularly updates its travel advisories and advises travellers to check the latest information for any destination on its official website.
