Land Route from Ivory Coast To Ghana Dangerous.....

U.S. Warns of Travel to Ivory Coast WASHINGTON - The government on Sunday warned Americans to avoid traveling to Ivory Coast because of widespread violence in the West African nation.

Mobs roamed the streets of Abidjan, the capital, after Ivorian government warplanes attacked targets in rebel-held cities in the north, including a French peacekeeping outpost in which nine French troops and an American consultant working for an aid group were killed.

Updating a travel warning issued June 18, the State Department urged that all nonessential travel to Ivory Coast be scrubbed.

The warning said telephone communications were spotty with the northern city of Bouake, which has been without electrical service since Thursday. Many areas have no water, the warning said.

"There have been numerous and ongoing violent incidents in Abidjan that have been directed against people of non-Ivorian appearance, specific diplomatic missions and foreign military and international peacekeeping operations," the department said.

"Anti-foreign attacks have resulted in serious injuries to persons and property. Individuals have been pulled from vehicles, businesses and schools entered, looted and burned, and families harassed."

The warning said land routes to neighboring Ghana were open but "too dangerous at this time to consider crossing the border by road." After fighting at Abidjan's airport, now controlled by French forces, all flights remain canceled, the department said.