Hundreds of British tourists are being evacuated from Kenya after the Foreign Office warned of a heightened terrorist threat.
Travel operator Thomson said all of its customers currently on holiday in Kenya were being flown back to the UK today and on Friday following the government's warning.
In a statement issued yesterday, the FCO said: "If you are currently in an area to which we now advise against all but essential travel, you should consider whether you have an essential reason to remain. If not, you should leave the area."
Thomson said it has around 400 customers currently in Kenya, including in the Mombasa area which was highlighted by the FCO as high risk.
The company is also cancelling all flights to Mombasa until the end of October.
Britain's warning yesterday followed the deaths of three people in a car bomb attack last week. In a separate incident in a church in April, six people died and 18 were injured when gunmen opened fire.
Kenyan officials played down the threat.
Interior Ministry spokesman Mwenda Njoka said: "Every part of the world is nowadays prone to high threat from terrorism, including Britain."
FCO advice added: "There is a high threat from terrorism, including kidnapping. The main threat comes from extremists linked to Al Shabaab, a militant group that has carried out attacks in Kenya in response to Kenya's military intervention in Somalia.
"There has been a spate of small-scale grenade, bomb and armed attacks in Nairobi (especially the area of Eastleigh), Mombasa, and North Eastern Province.
"You should take care in public places where people gather, and exercise a heightened level of vigilance. "
"In the last few days the Kenyan government has pledged to step up security for tourists following a number of terrorist-related incidents."
