SAN FRANCISCO, January 06, (THEWILL) – United States President Donald Trump has said that the U.S. military personnel had been deployed to Gabon in response to possible violent demonstrations following the presidential elections in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
According to a letter to congressional leaders on Friday, Trump said the first of about 80 military personnel arrived the region on Wednesday to protect U.S. citizens and diplomatic facilities in Congo’s capital Kinshasa.
He said they “will remain in the region until the security situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo becomes such that their presence is no longer needed.”
Trump also said additional forces may be deployed if necessary.
THEWILL recalls that voters in the DRC went to the polls on December 30, 2018 to elect the successor to President Joseph Kabila, who has been in power for 18 years.
The DRC’s electoral commission is scheduled to release the provisional results of the presidential election on Sunday, but it has said there could be delays because of the slow arrival of tally sheets.
