Turkey warns citizens against travelling to US

Turkey has issued travel warnings to its citizens who are planning to go to the US. The foreign ministry today advised Turks not to fly to the States because of the increased terror acts and arbitrary arrests of Turkish citizens.

The warning published on the official website said: “It has been observed that there is a recent increase in terrorist and violent attacks in the US,” referring to several deadly incidents over the past few months.

The ministry mentioned recent attacks at Ohio University’s campus, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport, Dar Al-Farooq Mosque in Minnessota and a church in Texas.

“Attacks by vehicles being driven on crowds, in addition to bomb and gun attacks, are likely to continue to target city centres, cultural events, subway stations, state buildings, places of worship and school campuses,” the statement continued, adding that there is also a risk of arbitrary arrest for Turkish citizens travelling to the US.

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It added that the New York City subway pipe bomb attack in December was “an example of far-right/racist incidents”.

The move appears to be a response by Ankara to the US announcement on Wednesday, which named Turkey as a country with an “increased security risk” along with Sudan, Pakistan and Guatemala.

It’s also reported that Turkey summoned senior US diplomat Philip Kosnett to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ankara yesterday over Washington’s support for Syrian Kurdish fighters.