Ankara warns Turks over ‘social tensions’ in US

Turkey on Saturday warned its citizens living in or travelling to the United States to be vigilant due to “social tensions” and reported racist attacks following Donald Trump’s presidential election victory.
Turkey — where foreigners are routinely warned to take care due to bomb threats as well as unrest following a failed coup in July — said its nationals should be careful as protests against Trump continue in US cities.
Ankara advised Turks who “live in the United States or who are planning to travel to the US to be vigilant due to risks linked to current events and social tensions,” said a statement on the foreign ministry website.
It warned of the “increase, over the last few days, or verbal or physical aggression of a xenophobic or racist nature across the US”.
Turks should notably “not approach zones where demonstrations are growing, take security precautions (and) closely follow news via local media.”
The warning from Turkey came as thousands of protestors took to the streets of a number of US cities for the fourth straight day since Trump’s shock victory over Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in Tuesday’s elections.
Ankara regularly condemns “Islamophobic” incidents which it says are increasing in western countries, including in Europe with which tensions have increased since the July coup attempt and subsequent clampdown.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned during a visit to Belarus on Saturday against “intolerance” which he said “is spreading like the plague in some European countries”.