CAIRO: Just weeks ahead of Egypt's first elections since ousting former President Hosni Mubarak in February, the United States Department of State issued a travel warning for American citizens traveling or living in Egypt. The memo said that there is the possibility of unrest as elections for both houses of Parliament begin on November 28 and run through March of next year. The embassy said that demonstrations and protests are most likely to occur during this period and said that recent demonstrations in the past 9 months have led to violence, “in some instances resulting in deaths, injuries and extensive damage,” and as such “the State Department urges US nationals to remain alert to local security developments and to be vigilant regarding their personal security.” In addition, the State Department “strongly” urged its citizens to not attend any demonstrations in Egypt, as “even peaceful ones can quickly become violent and a foreigner could become a target of harassment or worse.” It continued to say that American citizens should not attempt to enter the embassy when security forces block off the area during any demonstration. In recent weeks, the US government has issued strong warnings against travel to Kenya and Nigeria in light of violence there and routinely issues warnings over security in Egypt. BM
