The US
Department of State warns its citizens of the risks of traveling to
the Central African Republic (CAR), and recommends AGAINST all but essential travel outside the
capital of Bangui.
This replaces
the Travel Warning of January 4, 2012, to reflect
a change in contact information.
Armed
militia groups, bandits, and poachers present real dangers, and the CAR
government is unable to guarantee
the safety of visitors in most parts of the
country. There have been repeated attacks on travelers
in the countryside. Attacks in recent months have
occurred as close as 70 kilometers to Bangui. Poachers and gunmen
also
pose a threat to game hunters in northern and
eastern CAR. The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) poses a similar threat to
hunters
in eastern CAR.
Bangui
suffers from elevated crime rates for both petty and violent crime, as
well as particularly limited transport and medical
options. CAR military and civilian security
forces (and people posing as such) staff checkpoints throughout the
city, frequently
harassing residents and international visitors
for bribes. Spontaneous demonstrations take place in CAR from time to
time
in response to world events or local
developments. Peaceful demonstrations can turn
confrontational and possibly escalate into
violence. Hence, all demonstrations should be avoided.
In
some cases, US citizens have been arrested and detained without due
process and housed in harsh prison conditions. The
CAR government has at times denied consular
access to US citizen prisoners and moved them to other facilities
without informing
the US Embassy.
The
US Embassy staff in Bangui can provide only limited services to US
citizens at this time. Following the evacuation
of all American staff in 2002, the U.S. Embassy in
Bangui resumed operations in January 2005 with very limited staffing.
