Turkey issues travel warning over anti-Trump protests in US
Turkey has issued a travel warning to its citizens in the US, urging them to stay away from the ongoing protests against Donald Trump’s win in the American presidential election.
The country’s foreign ministry urged the Turks to avoid the rallies, undertake necessary security measures at home and work, as well as immediately inform the police in the case that they might become victims of racist abuse or an attack.
The special alert applies to New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Miami, Los Angeles, Seattle, Oakland and Portland, where one person was injured in an armed attack on Saturday.
The statement by the ministry warned that anti-Trump gatherings “occasionally featured acts of crime and violence” and led to detentions being made by security officers, the Daily Sabah paper reported.“Based on demonstrators' social media posts, it's clear the demonstrations will likely continue for some time,” the statement stressed.
The ministry also advised citizens to follow announcements on its own website and the Turkish Embassy in Washington’s web page, as well those present in local US media.
In late October, Turkey was angered by the US State Department’s order to evacuate family members of the staff of its consulate in Istanbul.
READ MORE: US orders evacuation of Istanbul diplomatic staff families
Washington deemed it unsafe for Americans citizens to remain in Turkey, following extremists’ threats to “kidnap and assassinate westerners and US citizens.” Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, reacted to the move by saying that Istanbul or capital Ankara were “not more unsafe than any US state.”
