The United States Department of State has updated its global travel advisory, placing 23 countries under its highest travel warning, Level 4, and advising American citizens not to travel to those destinations under any circumstances.
In the revised advisory released on Saturday, July 18, through its official TravelGov X account, the State Department explained that a Level 4 designation is reserved for countries where security conditions present severe risks or where the US government’s ability to provide emergency assistance to its citizens is significantly limited.
“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, adding, “These places are dangerous. Do not go for ANY reason.”
Among the countries placed under the highest travel advisory are 11 African nations: Burkina Faso, 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), 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 updated guidance comes months after the State Department retained Nigeria under a Level 3 advisory, urging Americans to reconsider travel to the country because of crime, terrorism, kidnapping, civil unrest and inconsistent healthcare services.
However, the US classified several Nigerian states under the stricter Level 4 advisory due to heightened security concerns. The affected states include Borno, Jigawa, Kogi, Kwara, Niger, Plateau, Taraba, Yobe and northern Adamawa in the North, as well as Abia, Anambra, Bayelsa, Delta, Enugu, Imo and Rivers State, excluding Port Harcourt, in the South-East and South-South regions.
According to the State Department, travel to these areas is strongly discouraged because of elevated security risks.
The Nigerian government, however, rejected the assessment, describing it as a routine precaution based on the United States’ internal travel advisory procedures rather than an accurate reflection of the country’s overall security situation.