...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo aka Republic of Congo, which is much smaller and much more (for Africa) stable. DRC gave the world Patrice Lumumba and Joseph Mobutu, followed by years of tedious civil war. Its principle industry seems to be the production of corpses. With a population of about 74 million it has lots of raw material...
said on Saturday it had received "credible and specific information of a possible terrorist threat against US government facilities" in the capital, Kinshasa.
The e-mailed security alert sent to US citizens added that the Kinshasa embassy would be closed to the public on Monday, Nov. 26.
The statement did not elaborate on the nature of the threat, and the embassy declined to comment further. None of the State Department's designated foreign terrorist organizations are known to have major operations in Congo.
The country's political situation, however, is tense. Campaigning got underway on Thursday for a Dec. 23 presidential election that is meant to select incumbent Joseph Kabila's successor.
Repeated delays to the election over the past two years sparked street protests in which security forces killed dozens of demonstrators and worsened militia violence across the country