There is an ongoing high threat of kidnapping against Westerners in north, west and east Africa. We judge this risk to be particularly high in Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, southern Algeria, Nigeria, Kenya and Somalia. You should maintain a high level of vigilance at all times when travelling in these parts of Africa and should not travel to remote, isolated areas. We advise Australians to take increased security precautions when in their homes, workplaces or cars and watch for any suspicious or unusual activity. You should monitor local information sources for details about the safety and security environment. If you do decide to travel to areas where there is a high or very high threat of kidnapping or to remote areas where we strongly advise you not to travel, you should ensure that you have personal security measures in place or seek professional security advice. Any road travel should be undertaken in daylight, in convoy and with a local guide. In the past, foreigners have been kidnapped from their vehicles. You should maintain a high level of vigilance at all times. You should carefully read the destination-specific advice for the countries you intend to visit. We currently advise Australians not to travel to Chad, Guinea, Niger, Sudan and Somalia. Australians are strongly advised to reconsider their need to travel to Algeria, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Liberia, Mauritania and Nigeria. We also strongly advise Australians not to travel to regions within countries including Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, the Gambia, Kenya, Libya, Mali and Morocco. Due to the extremely dangerous security situation and access limitations in some locations, the Australian Government’s ability to provide consular assistance to Australian citizens is severely limited. Terrorist groups, including some affiliated with al-Qaeda, are often responsible for the kidnapping of foreigners. These groups are active in north, west and east Africa and pose a very real security threat. Terrorists have used foreigners to secure ransom payments and the release of jailed militants. In some instances, terrorists have killed their kidnap victims when their demands were not met. Foreign employees, particularly those in the oil and mining sectors, aid and humanitarian workers, tourists and expatriates are regularly targeted. Criminal gangs are also known to kidnap foreigners, who they later exchange with terrorists for money. Terrorists in Africa may be using local merchants like tour and transport operators to identify foreign visitors for potential kidnap operations. Hostages may be taken by their captors into a neighbouring country. Humanitarian workers in Kenya have been kidnapped by militants and held in Somalia.