Kenya asks U.S. to lift 'unfriendly' travel warning

Reuters
Kenya's Interior Minister Joseph ole Lenku (C), flanked other government officials, speaks during a news conference near the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi September 25, 2013. REUTERS/Siegfried Modola

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya on Sunday asked the U.S. government to lift an advisory warning U.S. citizens over travel to the east African country after the September 21 Nairobi mall attack, calling it "unnecessary" and "unfriendly". "We believe issuing the travel advisory is counter-productive in the fight against global terrorism," Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku told a news briefing. "We request the United States, as a friend of Kenya, to lift the travel advisory," he added. (Reporting by Matthew Mpoke Bigg; Editing by Pascal Fletcher)