U.S. Personnel Evacuated From Zaire Embassy Amid Country Not Existing For Over 25 Years

KINSHASA, ZAIRE—Ordering rescue helicopters to the long-fallen nation, U.S. personnel were reportedly evacuated from the Zaire embassy Wednesday amid the country not existing for over 25 years. “We have found it untenable to maintain a diplomatic presence in the central African nation of Zaire given the current state of it having collapsed in 1996,” said Secretary of State Antony Blinken, explaining that the political relationship between the two countries had broken down quickly after it became clear that a country called the Democratic Republic of the Congo had taken its place a generation ago. “The decision to suspend operations in a country is never an easy one, but our hands were tied due to Zaire no longer being a country. The second we received intelligence reports that indicated Zaire was not on any map, nor had it been for more than a quarter century, we had to take drastic measures.” At press time, sources confirmed the evacuated U.S. personnel had safely been escorted to a military base in nearby Rhodesia.