U.S. lawmakers want Obama to impose sanctions on Congo

Joseph Kabila Kabange, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, addresses the 69th United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York September 25, 2014. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. senators called on President Barack Obama's administration on Friday to impose targeted sanctions on officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo responsible for violence and rights violations amid rising political tensions.

Hoping to increase pressure on the government of President Joseph Kabila, three of Obama's fellow Democrats, senators Richard Durbin, Edward Markey and Christopher Murphy, said on Friday they had introduced a Senate resolution this week calling on Kabilia's government to fulfil its constitutional mandate for a democratic transition of power late this year.