Danish Foreign Ministry Issues Travel Warnings For 28 Muslim Countries

The Danish Foreign Ministry has altered its publicised travel information for 28 Muslim countries thanks to their military involvement against ISIS in Iraq and the general atmosphere in those countries. Although Danes are not explicitly advised to avoid the countries, they are being cautioned to be vigilant and aware of potentially risky situations, The Local has reported.

“This affects Muslim countries or countries with large Muslim populations. We are doing this because we have seen beheadings in some of the countries and we want to make people aware that that if they choose to travel there, there could be a specific terror risk and a focus on Danes,” said Ole Egberg Mikkelsen, a spokesman for the Borgerservice (Foreign Ministry).

The advice includes avoiding being the only foreigner in an area, or conversely avoid places where there is a large congregation of Westerners, such as the airport. Danes are also advised to avoid potentially risky situations.

Mikkleson conceded that it is rare for the Borgerservice to change its advice about so many countries all at once, but told Politiken that it has happened before.

The affected countries are: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Burkina Faso, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Palestine, Pakistan, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

The Danish Prime Minister announced that Denmark would be participating in air strikes against ISIS on the same day as the British and Belgian Parliaments made the same decision, nearly two weeks ago. According to AP, Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt later announced that 250 pilots and staff, three reserve jets and four planes would be deployed to combat ISIS in Iraq. “No one should be ducking in this case. Everyone should contribute,” she said. The announcement was later ratified by her colleagues in the Danish Parliament.

Earlier in September, a Turkish-Danish Islamic Militant known only as ‘OA’ told Politiken that Denmark was “high up on [ISIS’s] list of targets, believe me.”