US updates travel warning vs. Philippines

MANILA, Philippines —Citing the threat of kidnapping, the US Department of State advised American nationals to stay away from Sulu, an archipelago in southern Philippines.

In the updated advisory, the state department cited instances of attempted and actual kidnappings of foreigners in Sulu Archipelago and neighboring Eastern Sabah, which is internationally considered a part of Malaysia.

"US citizens should continue to defer non-essential travel to the Sulu Archipelago, due to the high threat of kidnapping of international travelers and violence linked to insurgency and terrorism there," the statement reads.

It also advised Americans to "exercise extreme caution" if considering travel in Mindanao, especially to the area east to Zamboanga City and the Sulu Sea vicinity between Balabac Island and Palawan province.

The latest travel alert replaced the January 10, 2014 warning issued by the state department.

"The [US] Embassy has imposed a strict restriction on all but the most essential travel to Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago, and Embassy employees must receive special authorization from Embassy security officials to travel to any location in Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago, including urban centers," it added.

Among the recent incidents cited justifying the travel warning are the "increased tempo and scale" of separatist rebels' activities and skirmishes with Philippine authorities.

There were also instances of bombings and attacks on civilians and government officials by members of the Moro National  Liberation Front and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.