State Dept. Advises All Foreigners to Leave Zaire

World Travel Watch is a monthly report designed to help you make informed judgments about travel. Because conditions can change overnight, always make your own inquiries before you leave home. In the United States, contact your Passport Agency office; abroad, check in with the nearest American embassy. Africa

Zaire: The U.S. Department of State has advised all foreigners to leave the country, due to the recent riots and looting in the commercial center and capital city of Kinshasa. Further unrest, including food shortages, is possible, and there is a curfew in effect in the city. The riots were the worst since the country gained independence 30 years ago, and forced President Mobuto Sese Seko to agree to share power in an interim crisis government. The past year has seen many violent protests for political change in this country, which has been under Mobuto’s rule for 26 years.

Liberia: A cease-fire in the civil war here has failed to hold, with fierce fighting recently near the border with Sierra Leone between forces loyal to former President Samuel Doe and those of rebel leader Charles Taylor. There is no central authority outside the capital city of Monrovia, where violence could flare at any time. Avoid travel here.

Zambia: Zambia’s first multiparty elections in 17 years are scheduled for Oct. 31. A state of emergency remains in effect throughout the country, which has been experiencing a widespread cholera epidemic, food shortages and a depressed economy. Exercise caution.

Uganda: Travel in the northeast near the Kenyan border should be avoided due to rebel activities and cattle rustling by nomadic tribesmen from Kenya. As many as 100 people were killed by rustlers in a recent raid on the village of Moroto.

Caribbean

Haiti: In light of last week’s coup that sent President Jean-Bertrand Aristide into exile and reportedly left more than 100 people dead, the State Dept. has issued a travel warning that advises Americans to defer all travel to Haiti at this time.

Europe/Soviet Union

Romania: The State Department has warned U.S. citizens against traveling to Romania, citing violent demonstrations in the capital city of Bucharest. Further unrest is likely. All nonessential travel should be deferred, and Americans who are already in the country should stay away from areas where demonstrations are held, and should avoid photographing demonstrations. The largest and most violent demonstration in months occurred Sept. 25 when coal miners protesting runaway inflation commandeered trains and stormed government headquarters in Bucharest. The State Department also noted that Americans wishing to adopt Romanian children should postpone travel, since no new adoptions are being allowed at present.

Soviet Union: Travel to the republic of Georgia should be deferred due to unrest in the capital city of Tbilisi, where opposition leaders supported by rebel national guard units were involved in a tense standoff last week with forces loyal to President Zviad Gamsakhurdia. The opposition claims that Gamsakhurdia has been using nationalistic sentiments to establish a dictatorship. Negotiations are under way between the two groups. Further unrest is possible.

In the republic of Tadzhikistan in Soviet Central Asia, large demonstrations against Communist hard-liners have been occurring in the capital city of Dushanbe, where the Communist-controlled parliament recently declared a state of emergency and removed a moderate leader from power. Unrest is likely to continue.

Yugoslavia: The situation in Croatia remains tense despite a lull in the fighting between Croatia’s secessionist forces and a combination of Serbian nationalists and the federal army. Travel to Yugoslavia should be avoided at this time.

South America

Peru: In recent months, the cholera epidemic has surged in the Amazon jungle state of Loreto, with as many as 800 people affected in Iquitos alone. Travelers should be very careful of what they consume, substituting bottled beverages for water and eating only food that is well cooked.

For more information on safety concerns in countries you may be visiting, contact the Citizens Emergency Center, U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C. 20520, (202) 647-5225.