Washington – Americans were on Friday warned by the US State Department of the risks of travel to Kenya, after heightened terror threats and recent violence in some areas.
US nationals should “evaluate their personal security situation” before travel, the State Department said, updating a previous warning issued in September after an attack at a major Nairobi shopping mall killed dozens and wounded five Americans.
“The US government continues to receive information about potential terrorist threats aimed at US, Western and Kenyan interests in Kenya, including in the Nairobi area and in the coastal cities of Mombasa and Diani,” the warning said.
From 2011 Kenya has suffered many attacks since sending troops into southern Somalia to battle the Al Qaeda linked Shebab insurgents.
The worst of the attacks was the Westgate Mall attack which left 67 people dead.
“In the past year and a half, there have been numerous attacks involving shootings, grenades or other explosive devices in Kenya,” the State Department said.
“US citizens in Kenya should be extremely vigilant with regard to their personal security, particularly in crowded public places such as clubs, hotels, resorts, shopping centers, restaurants, bus stations and places of worship.”
Tuesday saw the prominent radical cleric Abubaker Shariff Ahmed, also a vocal supporter of Al-Qaeda and its late leader Osama bin Laden, was gunned down in Kenya’s port city of Mom.
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