Travel Advice for New Zealanders: Unrest in the Middle East & North Africa

 MFAT Media Update #2 

10 am

21 February 2010

General Situation and Advice

Protests and unrest continue in a number of Middle Eastern and North African countries, including Bahrain, Libya, Jordan, Yemen, Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia.

MFAT is closely monitoring developments and all travel advice for the region remains under constant review.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade encourages New Zealanders in, or travelling to, the Middle East or North Africa to register their details on the Safetravel website www.safetravel.govt.nz

Registering on the site enables Embassy staff to contact and quickly provide advice to New Zealanders if an emergency occurs.

All New Zealanders travelling overseas should have comprehensive medical and travel insurance policies in place

Update on Bahrain

·                      The travel advisory risk is at ‘high risk’ due to the unpredictable security situation and we advise against all tourist and other non essential travel.

·                      New Zealanders in Bahrain are advised to avoid all areas where protests and demonstrations may occur as they have the potential to turn violent.

·                      New Zealanders should avoid all unnecessary travel around the island, monitor developments through local media, maintain a high level of security awareness in public places and adhere to all instructions issued by the local authorities.

·                      236 New Zealanders are registered with MFAT as being in Bahrain

Update on Libya

·                      The Libya travel advisory has been updated following ongoing protests in a number of town and cities across Libya.

·                      The risk level has been increased to high, following reports of clashes between Libyan security forces and protesters in the cities of Benghazi, Ajdabiya, Al Marj, as-Bayda, Derna and Tobruk resulting in a number of fatalities.

·                      We are advising against all tourist and non-essential travel to Libya due to the unpredictable security situation.

·                      New Zealanders in Libya are advised to avoid all areas where protests and demonstrations may occur as they have the potential to turn violent, monitor developments through local media, maintain a high level of security awareness in public places and adhere to all instructions issued by local authorities.

·                      26  New Zealanders are registered with MFAT as being in Libya

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