State Extends Africa and Mideast Diplomatic Closures
The State Department announced on Aug. 4 it will extend its initial closure of diplomatic posts across Africa and the Middle East up to nearly one week, due to intelligence gathering that indicates an imminent and sizeable terrorist threat to U.S. regional interests, congressional leaders and administration officials confirmed over recent days. According to the department travel alert posted on Aug. 2 and set to expire Aug. 31, the potential attack may emanate from or occur on the Arabian Peninsula. Diplomatic posts will close from Aug. 5 to Aug. 10 in Abu Dhabi, Amman, Cairo, Riyadh, Dhahran, Jeddah, Doha, Dubai, Kuwait, Manama, Muscat, Sanaa, Tripoli, Antananarivo, Bujumbura, Djibouti, Khartoum, Kigali, and Port Louis.
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The State Department announced diplomatic posts in Dhaka, Algiers, Nouakchott, Kabul, Herat, Mazar el Sharif, Baghdad, Basrah, and Erbil were authorized to reopen on Aug. 5, after shutting down operations on Aug. 4. The closure extension is “not an indication of a new threat stream, merely an indication of our commitment to exercise caution and take appropriate steps to protect our employees including local employees and visitors to our facilities,” said the State Department in a press release (here).