American citizens have been warned by the US embassy to steer clear of what it calls “gentlemen’s clubs” in Sofia, a euphemism for strip clubs, following a recent spate of violent incidents in such venues.

The following warning appears on the embassy’s online American Citizen Services Unit. “The U.S. Embassy would like to make Americans in Sofia aware of the occurrence of increasingly dangerous incidents in "Gentlemen’s clubs"; these incidents include two bombings and a shooting in August and September 2008, one of which seriously injured several people. Local authorities report these incidents likely result from turf wars between rival criminal gangs. The Embassy encourages Americans to avoid such clubs.”

The advice appears to be based purely on concerns about the personal safety of American citizens without in any way casting aspersions on the morality or otherwise of those frequenting such establishments.

For more information: http://bulgaria.usembassy.gov/service.html