Securely Travel Alert: Democratic Republic of Congo - Civil Unrest

Reconsider Travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo

UPDATED 22 December: The election scheduled for 23 December has been postponed. According to the BBC, a fire at a warehouse which stored ballots to be distributed to remote locales burned to the ground and thus the election is postponed. The BBC continues, “It is the latest in a series of delays to frustrate opposition supporters, who suspect that President Joseph Kabila intends to cling on to power.”

Increase of violence is expected to continue as the Presidential Election scheduled for 23 December 30 December draws near.

The U.S. Embassy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has issued a draw-down order for non-essential personnel currently assigned to the country. A draw-down calls for the orderly evacuation of personnel and their families. 

The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens outside of Kinshasa due to extremely limited infrastructure and poor security conditions, notably in eastern DRC and Kasais.

At this time the travel threat rating provided by the U.S. Department of State is Level 3 - reconsider travel. 

#DRC Security Alert: Opposition parties are planning a large rally in #Kinshasa today, Dec 19, as part of DRC’s ongoing presidential campaign. There is strong potential for large crowds through this afternoon along the airport road and toward Ndjili. https://t.co/thRxrYEqqY pic.twitter.com/QF6hPMB9nI

— Travel - State Dept (@TravelGov) December 19, 2018

Canadian Government: Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa) - AVOID NON-ESSENTIAL TRAVEL

The Canadian government has issued a similar warning for all citizens to avoid non-essential travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) due to the current political and security situation. If your presence is not essential, you should consider leaving ahead of the December 23, 2018 presidential elections.

Our advice remains, avoid non-essential travel at this time. If you are currently in the Democratic Republic of Congo and are unable to depart, ensure you have on hand sufficient emergency supplies should civil unrest make passage intra- or intercity problematic.