U.S. alerts citizens of Turkmenistan security
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The United States advised its citizens on Monday to carefully evaluate travel to the Central Asian state of Turkmenistan in the wake of an attack last month on the Turkmen president's motorcade.
"There is currently a heightened state of security in Turkmenistan," the U.S. State Department said, urging U.S. citizens to be cautious and to make sure that their travel documents were in order.
"Police have conducted widespread questioning, home searches, and car searches. Security personnel have set up checkpoints on major roads," the State Department warned in a statement.
"U.S. citizens are strongly advised to ensure they have complied with Turkmenistan's visa and registration requirements and to carry their passports with them at all times," the statement added. U.S. citizens were also urged to register at the U.S. Embassy in the Turkmenistan capital Ashgabat.
Turkmenistan President Saparmurat Niyazovan's motorcade was raked by machine-gun fire early on November 25 as it traveled through central Ashgabat. No one was hurt.
President for life, Niyazov has run Turkmenistan with increasing authority since he became chairman of the Turkmen Communist Party in 1985, when the country was still a republic of the Soviet Union.
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