Britain's Foreign Office on Sunday urged its nationals to leave the breakaway Somaliland region of northern Somalia, citing a "specific threat to Westerners."

"We are now aware of a specific threat to Westerners in Somaliland, and urge any British nationals who remain there against our advice to leave immediately," the Foreign Office said in a statement.

"As our travel advice continues to make clear, kidnapping for financial or political gain, motivated by criminality or terrorism, remains a threat throughout Somalia," it said.

The Foreign Office issued a similar warning on Thursday, urging all Britons to leave the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi immediately in response to a "specific, imminent threat" to Westerners.