Molouk Y. Ba-Isa, Arab News

ALKHOBAR, 17 April 2004 — The US Embassy has received from the US Department of State an order for the departure of family members and non-essential personnel of the US Embassy and US Consulates in Saudi Arabia.

The State Department has also warned US citizens to defer travel to Saudi Arabia and private US citizens currently in Saudi Arabia are being strongly urged to leave, although they cannot be forced to do so.

“The US government has received recent and credible information indicating that extremists are planning further attacks against US and Western interests,” read a US State Department Travel Warning issued yesterday. “American citizens in Saudi Arabia should remain vigilant, particularly in public places associated with the Western community.”

Despite the serious nature of the US advisory there is no panic among the American community. Even those US diplomats who are leaving the Kingdom will do so gradually over the coming week. The State Department claimed that the ordered departure came as a result of “security concerns” in Saudi Arabia and that this diplomatic status would be reviewed every 30 days.

There are three levels of departure notices — authorized, ordered and evacuation. The US State Department last issued an ordered departure on May 13, 2003, after terrorist attacks in Riyadh.

During the Iraq war US diplomats and their families were only issued an “authorized departure,” meaning that anyone leaving the Kingdom did so of their own choice.

The ordered departure only directly affects US diplomats and their families, although US defense contractors often immediately follow such advisories.

Saudi firms will enable the departure of American employees and their families based on specified individual contractual obligations. At this time there has been no announcement of any closures of international schools serving the American community. However, the travel warning may affect the plans of consultants and senior international executives scheduled to travel to the Kingdom.

A US Embassy spokesman admitted that the embassy has no exact idea of the number of Americans living and working in Saudi Arabia, although in a Christian Science Monitor article earlier this year the US Embassy estimated the total at 30,000. The spokesman advised all US citizens who travel to, or remain in, Saudi Arabia despite the travel warning to register at the Consular Section of the US Embassy in Riyadh or at the US Consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran. Americans in Saudi Arabia should also enroll in the Warden System, an emergency alert network, to obtain updated information on travel and security in Saudi Arabia.

“From time to time, the US Embassy and consulates in Saudi Arabia may restrict the travel of official Americans or suspend public services for security reasons. In those instances, the embassy and consulates will keep the local American citizen community apprised through the Warden System and make every effort to provide emergency services to US citizens.

The US mission in Saudi Arabia continues to prohibit its American employees and their dependents from traveling to residential compounds in the Riyadh area from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.,” concluded the warning.

Despite the ordered departure, the US Embassy spokesman stated that the embassy and both consulates would remain open and US visas would continue to be issued. The latest US security information is available for review via the Internet at http://riyadh.usembassy.gov.