The United States on Friday issued a travel advisory warning US citizens against travelling to Niger, citing crime, unrest, terrorism, health and kidnapping. The State Department advisory follows the kidnapping last week of an American missionary in Niger's capital Niamey. On Thursday, the State Department authorised the departure of all family members of government employees for the same reason. Government staff in Niger must travel in armoured vehicles and observe a mandatory curfew, the department said, and restaurants and open-air markets are off limits to them. A similar Level 4 travel advisory has been issued for neighbouring Mali, where the government has come under increasing pressure from al Qaeda-linked insurgents.
