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I believe all 4 agencies now recommend travel. I know AFAA's website advises against it, but I think theirs is the only one which does, and when I was looking into agencies I emailed AFAA about this and Cheryl (who runs the agency) told me they feel it is safe as well and need to update their site (which they still haven't).
I felt very safe there, both in terms of petty crime (pickpockets, etc) and more serious crime. The people are very friendly and warm. I've done a lot of travel in developing countries, and had a very high comfort level in Addis (and outside Addis. We travelled a bit when there). Keep in mind that both the African Union and UN have headquarters in Addis, so there are lots of businesspeople there on a regular basis. It is a modern and comfortable city. As with anywhere these days, terrorism can occur so it probably makes sense to steer clear of places where Americans hang out, etc. But that's true anywhere in the world as Americans are not loved by a lot of people...Common sense precautions would make sense, but nothing more than that seemed necessary.
It was a great trip, tons of tourists and businesspeople are there, and it felt very safe.
I am happy to share thoughts on hotels, etc either on or offlist if you're interested.
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