adminWashington — The State Department is warning US citizens against traveling to Mali and is authorising the voluntary departure of eligible family members and non-emergency personnel from the US Embassy in the African nation’s capital.
The department is also urging Americans already in Mali to “review their personal safety and security plans” to decide if they should leave.
The advisory issued on Tuesday advises US citizens to remain vigilant and “avoid public gatherings and locations frequented by foreigners.”
Last month, heavily armed Islamic extremists attacked a luxury hotel in Mali’s capital, Bamako. Twenty people, including one American, were killed.
The State Department says the US Embassy in Mali will provide only emergency consular services “for the foreseeable future.”
Meanwhile, China’s official Xinhua news agency said yesterday that an investigation into a massive US computer breach last year that affected more than 22 million federal workers found the hacking attack was criminal, not state-sponsored.
In an article about a meeting between top US and Chinese officials on cyber security issues held in Washington, Xinhua said the breach at the United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) was among the cases discussed.
The report did not give details of who conducted the investigation, or whether U.S. and Chinese officials both agreed with the conclusion.— Reuters.
Bongani Ndlovu