US Closes Embassy in Central African Republic

With rebels advancing in the Central African Republic, the US has evacuated its ambassador and his staff and closed its embassy in the country. Washington is urging Americans not to visit the country, where violence is surging, the AP reports. Rebels have captured 10 northern towns, and locals in the capital of Bangui are storing food for fear of an impending attack, the BBC notes.

President Francois Bozize yesterday sought assistance from France, the US, and other countries. France already has 200 soldiers in the country, but they're there "to protect our nationals" and "not to protect a regime," French President Francois Hollande said. Rebels say Bozize hasn't kept to a 2007 deal that said fighters at the time would be paid after agreeing to peace. (More Central African Republic stories.)