United States asks its citizens not to travel to Manipur in revised advisory

The United States on Tuesday asked its citizens not to travel to Manipur, among some other regions of India, citing violence and crime.

“Ongoing ethnic-based civil conflict has resulted in reports of extensive violence and community displacement,” said the advisory. “Attacks against Indian government targets occur on a regular basis.”

The travel advisory for India was revised to reflect information on the northeastern states, said the US State Department.

The United States government employees travelling in India need prior approval before visiting Manipur, it said.

The state has been gripped by ethnic clashes between the Meitei and tribal Kuki communities since May 2023. The violence has left at least 225 persons dead and displaced 60,000 persons since the beginning of the clashes.

The other regions that the advisory urged United States citizens not to travel to are Jammu and Kashmir, within 10 kms of the India and Pakistan border “due to the potential for armed conflict”, and parts of central and eastern regions of the country where “Naxalites are active”.

These regions were included in the previous advisory issued in November 2021 as well.

The advisory for Jammu and Kashmir cited the risk of “terrorism and civil unrest”. The warning does not apply to eastern Ladakh and its capital Leh.

In general, the advisory said: “Indian authorities report that rape is one of the fastest growing crimes in India. Violent crime, such as sexual assault, has happened at tourist sites and other locations.”

“Terrorists may attack with little or no warning,” it added. “They target tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, and government facilities.”

While India overall is placed at Level 2 of the risk ranking, Jammu and Kashmir, the India-Pakistan border, Manipur and parts of the central and eastern regions are at Level 4. Level 2 calls for exercising increased caution and Level 4 says “do not travel”.

Other northeastern states are at Level 3, which calls for reconsideration of travel.

The US State Department advisory said that in the northeastern states, “ethnic insurgent groups occasionally commit acts of violence in parts of the northeast”. However, it said that there had been no recent reports of violence such as bombings of buses, trains, rail lines and markets in Assam, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Sikkim or Tripura.

Canada and the United Kingdom have similar advisories in place for their citizens.

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