Norwegian authorities have advised its citizens not to travel to large parts of Ethiopia.

Through a statement issued on December 17, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that the travel advisories would tighten up for western Oromia, amongst others, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

The same emphasises that since an explosion that happened in November 2020, the conflict in Ethiopia has gone through several phases, and the place is no longer safe to travel to for non-essential purposes.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs advises against all travel to the conflict-affected areas in western Ethiopia. This includes the areas of Kelam Welega, West Welega, Buno Bedele, East Welega, Horo Guduru Welega in Oromia Region, Gambella Region, and Benishangul-Gumuz Region,”  the statement reads.

According to the Ministry, between the negotiations of the parties, a ceasefire agreement was reached, which contributed to the improvement of the situation in northern Ethiopia, but the situation is still very uncertain in the Tigray region.

Thus, the Ministry has also urged citizens not to travel to the Tigray region, as well as the border areas between the Amhara and Tigray regions and the Afar region.

In addition, the riots in Eastern Ethiopia and towards the border with Somalia have caused an insecure situation for these regions as well. At the same time, the situation for the capital in Addis Ababa is still the same, though the capital is exempted from travel advisories. In this direction, air traffic to and from the capital continues to develop normally.

As a result of the ongoing situation, the embassy which offers consular assistance to Norwegian citizens located elsewhere in the country will still be limited.

Previously, in October, Norway announced its advice to Norwegian citizens to avoid all travel to the Nablus and Jenin regions in the West Bank. The Ministry said that for a long time, the security situation in the north of the West Bank has been unstable and as such, Norwegian citizens are advised not to endanger themselves by travelling to these territories.

In the same month, Norwegian authorities introduced new travel advisories for Benin and Togo, while also reducing travel advisories for Burundi and Tunisia.

Before that, given the violence and unrest following September’s military coup in the West African country of Burkina Faso, Norwegian citizens were advised to avoid non-essential travel to the country.

At the end of September, it also recommended to its citizens not to travel to Iran, except in strictly necessary cases, due to nationwide demonstrations, the reactions of the authorities, and the deterioration of the security situation in Iran.

Source: schengenvisanews