US orders government staff families to exit DRC

The State Department is also halting most official US government travel to the DRC, it announced on Thursday.

"The potential for civil unrest is high in parts of Kinshasa and other major cities," the State Department said, referring to the country's capital, in a statement.

"As a result of the deteriorating security situation, family members of US government personnel have been ordered to leave the country beginning September 29. Most official US government travel to the DRC has been halted," the statement read. Americans have been warned about traveling in the African nation for several weeks.

Violent clashes broke out in Congo amid political turmoil earlier this month and the State Department said continued instability was being reported. It said the potential for civil unrest was high in parts of the capital, Kinshasa, and other major cities.

Congo's electoral commission has decided a presidential election scheduled for November will not be possible, sparking deadly clashes between security forces and demonstrators. Critics of President Joseph Kabila (pictured above) claim the delayed election is an effort to keep Kabila in power.

On September 24 the AU, EU, and UN issued a statement calling for a peaceful resolution to the DRC's political turmoil. 

President Joseph Kabila, who has ruled the DRC since 2001, has declined to call new elections although they should have taken place this year. As he is ineligible to run for another term, many see his hesitation as a sign that he intends to cling to power.

Kabila assumed power after the death of his father, who had overthrown the previous regime in 1997. Laurent-Desire Kabila had been backed by the armies of Rwanda and Uganda but was himself murdered by one of his body guards during a coup attempt in 2001. 

jbh/jm (AFP, AP)