Pentagon restricts travel to West Africa over terror attacks

Citing recent terror attacks, the Pentagon, United States military on Wednesday restricted its service members’ from travelling to five West African countries.

The order limits unofficial travel by U.S. military personnel to Senegal, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Ghana, officials said.

“It’s just increased vigilance given the recent events that have happened in that area of the world,” said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Anthony Falvo, a spokesman for U.S. Africa Command.

Read also: France to deploy military force in Burkina Faso over attacks

U.S. Lieutenant Colonel Michelle Baldanza, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said the order remains in effect until June 30, and does not restrict official travel to the countries involved.

“Given the recent attacks in western Africa, we felt it prudent to make this decision at this time in an effort to ensure the safety of our personnel,” Baldanza said.

U.S. Africa Command has between 1,000 and 1,200 forces on the continent at any one time, mostly in training and support roles to help local security forces combat militants.

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