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Sri Lanka: Australia Issues Travel Warning to its Citizens |
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Sunday, 03 February 2008 |
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 Australia – Australia issues Travel warning to its citizens as the escalation of violence intensifies outside of north and east of Sri Lanka with series of deadly bombs explosions.
Dambulla bomb attack killed at least 20 people while 75 people were wounded some critically just three days before the 60th independence celebration of Sri Lanka on February 4th. "There has been a significant escalation in the number of serious incidents of politically motivated violence, including in tourist areas in the centre and south of the country," the advisory said. "On 2 January 2008, the government of Sri Lanka announced it would withdraw from the ceasefire agreement it signed in 2002 with the LTTE (Tamil Tigers). "The security situation could deteriorate further without warning. "We advise you not to travel to the north of Sri Lanka, including the area north a straight line between Chilaw on the west coast and the southern border of Wasgamuwa National Park on the Mahaveli River, including the Cultural Triangle between Dambulla, Anuradhapura and Polonaruwa, Wasgamuwa National Park, Mineriya Sanctuary and Wilpattu National Park." The threat level is slightly lower for Sri Lanka as a whole, with Australians urged to "reconsider" travel there. "We advise you to reconsider your need to travel to Sri Lanka at this time because of ongoing civil unrest, the volatile security situation and the very high risk of terrorist attacks," it said. "Attacks occur frequently and further attacks can happen at any time, anywhere in Sri Lanka. "Australians could inadvertently become victims of violence directed at others, in particular Sri Lankan government and military targets." The Sri Lanka tourism industry is considered to be one of the top foreign exchange earners for the country has suffered another body blow as attacks in South of Sri Lanka worries hundreds of thousands of people involved in the country’s lucrative tourism industry of Sri Lanka as the industry is already suffering badly due to the escalated violence, rights violations and intensified headlines regarding military operations in the country. |
