U.S. eases Angola travel warning

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States Friday relaxed a long-standing travel warning for U.S. citizens to stay away from Angola, saying it was doing so to reflect the recent end to a 25-year-old civil war in Angola.

The State Department made the announcement just two weeks before Secretary of State Colin Powell is to travel to the country.

Although the United States is no longer warning Americans to stay away from Angola, the State Department warns that serious dangers still remain.

"Crime, a severely deteriorated infrastructure and other legacies of the war, including land mines, continue to inhibit the free and safe movement of people throughout Angola," the updated travel advisory says.

"Police and military are heavily armed, and their authority should not be challenged. Street crime, sometimes violent, is common in the capital."

It adds that tourist facilities in the capital Luanda are "limited and expensive, and facilities are minimal in the rest of the country."

Powell is to travel to Angola in early September, as part of a three-nation African trip.

He plans to discuss the peace process and efforts to achieve national reconciliation following the civil war. Powell is scheduled to meet with Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos and UNITA rebel leadership, then visit a camp for displaced people and an orphanage.

The State Department also issued a travel warning for Somalia on Friday, warning Americans "against all travel" there.

"Inter-clan and inter-factional fighting can flare up with little warning, and kidnapping, murder and other threats to U.S. citizens and other foreigners can occur unpredictably in many regions."