US issues travel warning to Kenya because of al shabab!

[Coeus]

U.S. government workers in Kenya are advised to avoid border regions with Somalia and Ethiopia because of terrorism threats, the State Department said.

The U.S. State Department issued a travel advisory for parts of Kenya. It warns U.S. citizens in Kenya or considering travel to Kenya to evaluate travel plans given what the warning described as "continuing threats" of terrorism and violent crime.

"The U.S. government continues to receive information regarding potential terrorist threats aimed at U.S., Western and Kenyan interests in Kenya," the warning stated.

The State Department said that many of the militants connected to 1998 attacks by al-Qaida on the U.S. embassy there are on the loose.

The U.S. Embassy in Nairobi designated parts of the country bordering Somalia and Ethiopia as "restricted" for U.S. government employees, contractors, grantees and their dependents.

This, the warning added, is in part because of reports of Somali rebels crossing the border into Kenya. The State Department recently updated its travel advisories for Somalia and Uganda citing similar threats, particularly from Somalia's al-Qaida affiliate al-Shabaab.

The State Department warned U.S. citizens to avoid public rallies and remain "extremely vigilant" while in Kenya.