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US State Department Travel Warning For Afghanistan

US State Department Travel Warning For Afghanistan Featured Image

The Department of State warns U.S. citizens against travel to Afghanistan. The security threat to all U.S. citizens in Afghanistan remains critical. This Travel Warning supersedes the Travel Warning for Afghanistan issued on June 27, 2012, and reminds U.S. citizens of ongoing security risks, including kidnapping and insurgent attacks.

No region in Afghanistan should be considered immune from violence, and the potential exists throughout the country for hostile acts, either targeted or random, against U.S. and other Western nationals at any time. Remnants of the former Taliban regime and the al-Qaida terrorist network, as well as other groups hostile to International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) military operations, remain active. Afghan authorities have a limited ability to maintain order and ensure the security of Afghan citizens and foreign visitors. Travel in all areas of Afghanistan is unsafe due to military combat operations, landmines, banditry, armed rivalry between political and tribal groups, and the possibility of insurgent attacks, including attacks using vehicle-borne or other improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The security situation remains volatile and unpredictable throughout the country.

There is an ongoing and significant risk of kidnapping and assassination of U.S. citizens and Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) employees throughout the country. In May 2012, a British and a Kenyan aid worker, along with two Afghan counterparts, were kidnapped in Badakhshan Province while riding on horseback to deliver medical supplies to a remote village; they were freed 11 days later in a NATO rescue operation. In December 2012, a U.S. citizen working with an NGO was kidnapped in Kabul Province, and subsequently rescued by U.S. forces.

Riots and incidents of civil disturbance can and do occur, often without warning. U.S. citizens should avoid rallies and demonstrations; even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence. Following the unintentional mishandling of Korans by U.S. service members at Bagram Air Field base on February 21, 2012, violent demonstrations occurred in several locations throughout Afghanistan, resulting in the deaths of two U.S. service members during a protest outside of a military base in Nangarhar Province. Two additional U.S. service members were killed inside Kabul’s Ministry of Interior during a shooting that was likely attributable to the mishandling of Korans. The release in mid-September 2012 of an anti-Islamic amateur film produced in the United States prompted demonstrations around Afghanistan, including in Kabul. Most of the protests were peaceful; however, on September 17, 2012, one rally in Kabul grew violent, leading to the destruction of two police vehicles.

Kabul and its suburbs are also considered at high risk for militant attacks, including rocket attacks, vehicle-borne IEDs, direct-fire attacks and suicide bombings. A number of such attacks were reported in Kabul City from January to October 2012, and many additional attacks were thwarted by Afghan and coalition forces. In the last eighteen months, incidents involving Westerners have included a suicide attack against the Intercontinental Hotel in June 2011 in which U.S. citizens were critically injured, and an August 2011 attack against the British Council. Insurgents also carried out a complex sustained attack against multiple targets in Kabul on September 13, 2011, which included the U.S. Embassy and International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) headquarters, and again on April 15, 2012, targeting the U.S. and neighbouring embassies as well as ISAF headquarters and the Afghan Parliament.

Insurgents have also targeted the offices, convoys, and individual implementing partners of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The Kabul-Jalalabad Road (commonly called Jalalabad Road) and the Kabul to Bagram road are highly restricted for Embassy employees. On May 2, 2012, insurgents with vehicle-borne explosives and suicide vests targeted Green Village, a compound on Jalalabad Road in Kabul that houses primarily international security contractors; several guards and local school children were killed at the gates of the compound as a result of explosions. On June 22, 2012, insurgents attacked Spozhmai Hotel west of Kabul City. This attack created a hostage situation which resulted in the deaths of a number of Afghan civilians.

Buildings or compounds that lack robust security measures in comparison to neighboring facilities may be viewed as targets of opportunity by insurgents.

Ambushes, robberies, and violent crime can add to the insecurity in many areas of the country. U.S. citizens involved in property or business disputes — a common legal problem in Afghanistan — have reported that their adversaries in the disputes have threatened their lives. U.S. citizens who find themselves in such situations should not assume that either local law enforcement or the U.S. Embassy will be able to assist them in resolving these disputes.

From time to time, depending on current security conditions, the U.S. Embassy places areas frequented by foreigners off limits to its personnel. Potential target areas include key national or international government establishments, international organizations and other locations with expatriate personnel, and public areas popular with the expatriate community such as restaurants and hotels. Private U.S. citizens are strongly urged to heed these restrictions as well. We encourage U.S. citizens to obtain the latest information by frequently consulting the Embassy’s travel advisory website.

The U.S. Embassy’s ability to provide emergency consular services to U.S. citizens in Afghanistan is limited, particularly for those persons outside the capital. U.S. citizens who choose to visit or remain in Afghanistan despite this Travel Warning are encouraged to enroll with the U.S. Embassy in Kabul through the State Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to obtain updated information on travel and security within Afghanistan. U.S. citizens without Internet access may enroll directly with the U.S. Embassy. Enrollment makes it easier for the Embassy to contact U.S. citizens in case of an emergency. The U.S. Embassy is located at Great Masood Road between Radio Afghanistan and the Ministry of Public Health (the road is also known as Bebe Mahro or Airport Road) in Kabul. The Embassy phone numbers are 93-(0)700-108-001 and 93-(0)700-108-002. For after-hours, life-or-limb emergencies involving U.S. citizens, the Consular Section can be reached at 93-(0)700-201-908; please direct routine consular correspondence to KabulACS@state.gov.

Copyright © 2012, U.S. Department of State

Categories: Travel Advisory