Tourists make their way down towards the monastery of St. Catherine, South Sinai
(ANSAmed) - ROME - Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi has invited Italian tourists to exercise "maximum caution" when visiting Egypt in light of the difficult security situation in some parts of the country. In an updated travel advisory posted on its Viaggiare sicuri (Travel safely) website, the foreign ministry recommends that tourists remain in the vicinity of holiday villages in popular resorts such as Sharm El Sheikh, Marsa Alam and Hurgada, where "new tensions, unrest and dangerous elements have been reported" with "the presence of Bedouin tribes" that have become "particularly aggressive and responsible for frequent acts of intimidation and violence". It also says that excursions into the desert should be avoided completely, even when organised by tour operators. This applies particularly to destinations far afield and to the North Sinai desert, where 16 Egyptian policemen died and another eight militants were killed on Sunday evening in an attack against a checkpoint on the border between Israel and Egypt near Gaza.
Overall the number of kidnappings involving Italian nationals has doubled in the last eight months with respect to the previous eight months, the ministry says.(ANSAmed).
