Ethiopia: French government issues travel advisory on September 5

Event

The French government issued a travel advisory for Ethiopia on Tuesday, September 5, following a series of road clashes in parts of the country. French authorities have urged their citizens to remain vigilant while driving and to instead favor air travel when traveling across the country due to violent incidents on the roads between Addis Ababa, Dire Dawa, and Harar.

Context

Ethiopia continues to struggle against widespread insecurity amid recent anti-government protests and an Al-Shabaab-linked terrorist threat.  On August 4, the government lifted a nationwide state of emergency, which was instituted in October 2016 after months of anti-government protests, primarily in the Oromia region. Reports indicated that some 25,000 people were arrested in recent months for taking part in the protests while the state of emergency was in effect. The Defense Minister declared that the state of emergency was needed to bring "lasting peace," while the opposition has accused the government of using it as a tool to clamp down on demonstrators.

Advice

Individuals in Ethiopia are advised to remain vigilant at all times. The French government advises their citizens to remain vigilant while driving between Addis Ababa, Dire Dawa and Harar, and to favor air travel.

On a more general note, due to the terrorist threat linked to the Somali group al-Shabaab, the majority of Western governments advise their citizens against all travel to the Ogaden region and other areas along the border with Somalia, as well as nonessential travel to the rest of the Ethiopian Somali region. The Eritrean, Sudanese, South Sudanese, and Kenyan borders are also considered high-risk destinations.