Washington issues Niger travel warning

The US State Department has announced that it has warned its citizens of the risks of travelling to Niger due to "terrorist activity, kidnappings and high rate of crime" there.

US citizens should avoid travel to Niger's border regions with Libya, Mali, Nigeria and Chad because of "activity by various extremist groups", said a State Department statement.

It said the threats were coming from the terror groups Al Qaeda, Islamic State, Boko Haram and others, Xinhua news agency reported.

Due to these security concerns, some organisations, including foreign companies, non-governmental and private aid organisations, have suspended operations in Niger, the statement added.

 

The travel warning came after four US soldiers were killed in an ambush in Niger in October earlier.

--IANS

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