US flies out embassy staff
US Ambassador to Kenya Robert Godec at the US Embassy in Nairobi. PHOTO/BILLY MUTAI
What you need to know:
- US government personnel are now required to get special approval to travel to the city’s Eastleigh estate and to all counties at the Coast.
- The restrictions on US officials’ travel to Mombasa, Kwale, Kilifi and Lamu have been put in place specifically in response to the June 15 attack in Mpeketoni, the warning notes.
- The embassy staff are also prohibited from travelling to north eastern Kenya and to the coastal area north of Pate Island near the Somalia border.
The United States said on Thursday it was moving some of its Nairobi embassy personnel to other countries.
It also imposed broad travel restrictions within Kenya on the remaining personnel.
“The US government is also cutting back on its regional conferences and trainings in Nairobi,” the State Department said in a new travel warning.
US government personnel are now required to get special approval to travel to the city’s Eastleigh estate and to all counties at the Coast.
The restrictions on US officials’ travel to Mombasa, Kwale, Kilifi and Lamu have been put in place specifically in response to the June 15 attack in Mpeketoni, the warning notes.
The embassy staff are also prohibited from travelling to north eastern Kenya and to the coastal area north of Pate Island near the Somalia border.
“Although these restrictions do not apply to travellers not associated with the US government, US citizens in Kenya should take them into account when planning travel,” the statement said.
American citizens considering travelling to Kenya were asked to evaluate their personal security “in light of continuing and recently heightened threats from terrorism and the high rate of crime in some areas.”
This latest warning will likely dismay tourism officials and owners of businesses that heavily rely on the sector.
Visits to the country by holiday-makers have declined significantly in recent months.
“More than 100 people have been killed in terror attacks in Kenya in the year and a half before the June 15 and 17 killings,” the State Department added.
“Twenty grenade and improvised explosive device (IED) attacks have occurred in Nairobi, illustrating an increase in the number and an advance in the sophistication of these attacks.”
The US also directed an alert to its citizens of Somali descent.
Noting that Somali refugees in Nairobi and other cities had been ordered to report to camps, the State Department told Somali-Americans they “could encounter interruptions in their travel due to increased police scrutiny based on the encampment policy.”
