Bahrain, UAE warn citizens heading to US

Manama : Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have warned citizens travelling in the United States to be careful around protests in the wake of recent police shootings of black men.

A “special alert” issued by the UAE embassy to Washington, DC, on Saturday urged citizens to stay away from demonstrations in US cities.

State news agency WAM said the warning followed a protest by supporters of the “Black Lives Matter” movement in Washington on Friday.

Bahrain also issued its own advisory on Twitter, telling nationals to be “cautious of protests or crowded areas.”

The US State Department routinely issues travel advisories for Americans abroad.

On Friday, the Bahamas put out its own advisory about US travel; saying young men should “exercise extreme caution in affected cities in their interactions with the police”.

Demonstrations across the US continued into the early hours of Sunday, five days after Alton Sterling - a 37-year-old black man and father of five - was killed by white police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

His death was followed by the police killing in Minnesota of Philando Castile, a young, black man who worked at a local school serving food to children.