Angola Travel Warning

Issued by US Department of State

Mar 27, 2003

This Travel Warning is being issued to provide updated information on the security situation in Angola and to update the contact information for the U.S. Embassy in Luanda. This Travel Warning supersedes the one issued on August 23, 2002.

The Department of State warns U.S. citizens of the potential risk of travel to the Republic of Angola. The November 21, 2002, signing of a peace agreement marked the definitive end of 25 years of civil conflict. Nevertheless, a severely deteriorated infrastructure and other legacies of the war, including land mines, continue to inhibit safe movement throughout Angola. Occasional acts of banditry have been reported on roads in the interior, and any ground travel outside the major cities should be undertaken during daylight hours only.

Tourist facilities in Luanda are limited and expensive, and facilities are minimal in the rest of the country. Police and military are heavily armed, and their authority should not be challenged. Street crime, sometimes violent, is common in the capital. Because of unreliable communications and the difficulty of travel within country, the Embassy is able to provide only limited consular assistance outside of Luanda.

U.S. citizens are encouraged to register with and obtain updated information on travel and security from the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Luanda located at the Casa Inglesa Complex, Rua Major Kanhangula No. 132/135, tel. 244-2-371-645 or 396-727; fax 244-2-390-515. The Embassy is located on Rua Houari Boumedienne in the Miramar area of Luanda, P.O. Box 6468, tel. 244-2-447-028/(445-481)/(446-224); (24-hour duty officer 244-92-404-209); fax 244-2-446-924. The Consulate may be contacted by e-mail at luandaconsular@yahoo.com.

Further information on travel to Angola is also located on the Embassy web site at http://angola.usembassy.gov.

For further information about conditions in Angola, please consult the Department of State's latest Consular Information Sheet on Angola and the Worldwide Caution Public Announcement, available via the Internet at http://travel.state.gov.