The United States Department of State has updated its global travel advisory, placing 23 countries under its highest warning level, Level 4, and urging American citizens not to travel to those destinations under any circumstances.
In the updated advisory published on Saturday, July 18, through the department’s TravelGov X account, the US government said a Level 4 designation is reserved for countries where security conditions pose extreme risks or where the United States has limited ability to provide emergency assistance to its citizens.
“We issue Travel Advisories with Levels 1–4. Level 4 means DO NOT TRAVEL. We assign Level 4 based on local conditions and/or our limited ability to help Americans there,” the department stated. It added, “These places are dangerous. Do not go for ANY reason.”
Among the countries placed under the highest advisory are 11 African nations: Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libya, Mali, Niger, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.
The full list of Level 4 countries includes Afghanistan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Myanmar (Burma), the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Niger, North Korea, Russia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Uganda, Ukraine and Yemen.
The latest update comes months after the State Department retained Nigeria at Level 3, advising Americans to reconsider travel to the country while placing several states under the stricter Level 4 advisory due to ongoing security concerns.
The states listed under the Level 4 advisory are Borno, Jigawa, Kogi, Kwara, Niger, Plateau, Taraba, Yobe and northern Adamawa in northern Nigeria. In the South-South and South-East, the advisory covers Abia, Anambra, Bayelsa, Delta, Enugu, Imo and Rivers states, excluding Port Harcourt.
According to the State Department, Americans should reconsider travel to Nigeria because of crime, terrorism, kidnapping, civil unrest and inconsistent healthcare services, while travel to the listed Level 4 states is strongly discouraged.
The Nigerian government, however, rejected the US assessment, saying the advisory is a routine precaution based on Washington’s internal risk evaluation procedures and does not accurately reflect the country’s overall security situation.
