The State Department warned U.S. citizens against traveling to Mali on Tuesday, NBC News reported.
Personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Mali and their family members have also been authorized to leave voluntarily
"U.S. citizens already in Mali are encouraged to review their personal safety and security plans to determine whether they should depart," the travel warning said.
The advisory comes more than a week after gunmen stormed a hotel in Mali's capital of Bamako and killed 20 people.