- Home » Expat News » UK Foreign Office warns expats in Somalia of specific threats
UK Foreign Office warns expats in Somalia of specific threats
| Published: | 8 Feb at 6 PM |
Want to get involved?
Become a Featured Expat and take our interview.
Become a Local Expert and contribute articles.
Get in touch today!
Become a Local Expert and contribute articles.
Get in touch today!
The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office is now advising British expats living or working in Somalia to leave the country due to specific threats of violence against non-nationals.
In their statement the FCO said that there is now a specific threat against Westerners in the East African nation, urging British citizens who are still there to pack up and leave immediately. Indiscriminate attacks, it continued, are likely in places where foreign visitors and expatriates are known to gather.
In explanation, the FCO stated that, since the death of Osama bin Laden, Somalia-based Al Qaeda groups have made increasing threats against Western companies and their Western employees, both in Somalia and Somaliland. The warning also extends to the central and southern areas of the country, where there are dangerous levels of violence and criminality as well as internal insecurity.
The warning is the latest in a series of events which have shaken the worldwide expat community, beginning with the Algerian hostage crisis. Recently, similar threats have been targeting expats in Libya, and the French intervention in Mali has exacerbated tensions across a region containing many Western NGO employees and oil and gas industry workers.
In their statement the FCO said that there is now a specific threat against Westerners in the East African nation, urging British citizens who are still there to pack up and leave immediately. Indiscriminate attacks, it continued, are likely in places where foreign visitors and expatriates are known to gather.
In explanation, the FCO stated that, since the death of Osama bin Laden, Somalia-based Al Qaeda groups have made increasing threats against Western companies and their Western employees, both in Somalia and Somaliland. The warning also extends to the central and southern areas of the country, where there are dangerous levels of violence and criminality as well as internal insecurity.
The warning is the latest in a series of events which have shaken the worldwide expat community, beginning with the Algerian hostage crisis. Recently, similar threats have been targeting expats in Libya, and the French intervention in Mali has exacerbated tensions across a region containing many Western NGO employees and oil and gas industry workers.
Comments » No published comments just yet for this article...
Feel free to have your say on this item. Go on... be the first!
