Eritrea tightens travel restrictions on foreigners Eritrea has tightened in-country travel restrictions on foreigners, requiring permits for diplomats, aid workers and visitors, reports reaching Addis Ababa said Friday.
The new requirement took effect on Thursday and covered the entire country, according to a statement from Eritrea’s Foreign Ministry. “As of June 1,2006, all foreign nationals including resident diplomats are required to have a travel permit paper to travel to areas outside Asmara” said the statement. “Similarly, those foreigners working outside Asmara, if they are to travel outside the towns they are working in, will require a travel permit from the zonal administration in their respective areas,” it said. Previously, travel permits were not required for foreigners to visit the nearby bigger towns like Massawa, Keren, Dekemhare and Mendefera, all of which are less than 100 km from the capital Asmara. Such permits in Eritrea require authorities to approve the specific dates and times of travel, the route to be taken and the reason for the trip and generally take several days to be processed. |
