The US Government has not issued a travel ban on Sri Lanka but has only issued a warning for its citizens related to the Arugam Bay area, US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung clarified today.
Addressing an event in Colombo, Ambassador Chung said misleading reports have been shared claiming that the travel advisory had been issued on the whole of Sri Lanka.
Stating that there are no travel restrictions on Sri Lanka, Ambassador Chung said the warning issued recently is strictly limited to Arugam Bay only.
“Our security alert last week is for Americans to avoid Arugam Bay until further notice. We became aware of a specific threat in the Arugama Bay area. We shared these known details with Sri Lankan authorities, who responded quickly. We continue to actively coordinate with them on a daily basis. We value our partnership with Sri Lanka’s Leadership and security officials whose commitment to safety and transparency is notable,” she revealed.
Assuring that the recent warning is strictly only for the Arugam Bay area, she further said that the overall security travel advisory on Sri Lanka remains at Level 2.
“The level-2 travel advisory on Sri Lanka is one that has been in place for several years, similar to other popular destinations such as France, Italy, and the Maldives,” the US Ambassador added.
Her clarification comes after the US Government last week issued a travel advisory to its citizens, stating that it has received credible information warning of an attack targeting popular tourist locations in the Arugam Bay area.
At the time, commenting on the travel advisory, Police Spokesman Nihal Thalduwa said that the surge in Israeli tourists and the occupation of a building in the Arugam Bay area had prompted the US Embassy to issue a travel advisory. (Newswire)
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