The Swiss foreign ministry has advised tourists against travelling to large cities in Egypt following the outbreak of violence in the north African country.

The ministry on Friday recommended against trips to the capital, Cairo, as well as to Alexandria, Suez and Ismailia, saying the situation in whole of the country was tense.

The main Swiss tour operators have offered customers a refund on their holidays.

There are at least 1,700 Swiss tourists in Egypt but only a few dozen of them are apparently in Cairo at the moment, according to the travel agents Kuoni, Hotelplan and Tui Switzerland.

However, trips to the Red Sea resorts of Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh are still on offer at the moment.

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