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LIBYA

Denmark tells citizens to leave Libya

Following measures taken by countries including Britain and the United States, the foreign ministry encourages all Danish citizens to immediately leave Libya amidst increased violence.

Published: 28 July 2014 15:41 CEST
Denmark tells citizens to leave Libya
Smoke is seen billowing from an area near Tripoli's international airport during fighting between rival factions last week. Photo: Mahmud Turkia/Scanpix
Denmark's foreign ministry issued a warning on Monday for Danes to immediately leave Libya.
 
“The foreign ministry advises against all travel to all parts of Libya and Danes are encouraged to leave the country via commercial transport,” a warning issued on Monday afternoon read.
 
“There is a high risk of terror and kidnapping in Libya. There is a risk for civil unrest and armed clashes in, among other places, Tripoli,” the warning states. 
 
The foreign ministry advises Danes that Denmark has no official representation in Libya and says that those who need consular assistance should seek out the British Embassy. 
 
Denmark’s warning comes after countries including the US, Britain and Germany told their citizens to leave Libya over the weekend. Two weeks of fighting between militias in Libya's capital Tripoli have left 97 people dead.
 
The United States evacuated its Libyan embassy staff under air cover Saturday as they faced a "real risk" from fierce fighting around Tripoli airport, Secretary of State John Kerry said.
 
The airport was closed on July 13th following clashes between armed groups in the area.
   
Britain later updated its advice to warn against travel to Libya, and told those already there to leave.
 
"British nationals in Libya should leave now by commercial means." Britain's embassy will remain open but with reduced staff, and its ability to provide consular assistance "is very limited," the Foreign Office said.
 
The US announcement that it was evacuating its embassy came hours after Libya's interim government warned that the clashes between militia vying for control of the strategic airport were threatening to tear the country apart.

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IRAQ

Danes cautioned about visiting Muslim countries

In a rare move, the Foreign Ministry has changed its travel recommendations to 28 countries with large Muslim populations.

Published: 4 October 2014 10:31 CEST
Danes cautioned about visiting Muslim countries
Denmark's military action in Iraq can cause "a focus on Danes', the Foreign Ministry warns. Photo: Kasper Palsnov/Scanpix
The Foreign Ministry has changed its travel recommendations to 28 Muslim countries in light of Denmark’s military campaign against Isis in northern Iraq.
 
While the Foreign Ministry's citizen services department (Borgerservice) is not explicitly telling Danes to avoid travelling to the countries, it warns Danish travellers to use caution in the Muslim countries. Among the advice is to be aware of risky situations, and to avoid being either the only foreigner in a particular area or spending a lot of time in areas that have a high concentration of Westerners, such as airports. 
 
Borgerservice spokesman Ole Egberg Mikkelsen told Politiken that the sharpened travel guidelines are due both to Denmark’s participation in the coalition fighting Isis and the general security risks in the affected countries.
 
“This affects Muslim countries or countries with large Muslim populations. We are doing this because we have seen beheadings in some of the countries and we want to make people aware that that if they choose to travel there, there could be a specific terror risk and a focus on Danes,” Mikkelsen said. 
 
Mikkelsen said that although it is rare that Borgerservice changes its travel guidelines for so many countries at once, it has happened before. 
 
The affected countries are: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Burkina Faso, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Palestine, Pakistan, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
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