23 April 2018
Nicaragua riots: Relatives of US embassy staff told to leave
By BBC
The state department has ordered relatives of US government employees based in Nicaragua to leave the Central American country.
Services at the US embassy in the capital in Managua will be curtailed.
The order comes after days of deadly rioting triggered by planned changes to Nicaragua's social security system.
Even though Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega had scrapped the changes, the situation remains tense and more protests are expected.
The state department also said it would authorise US government personnel to leave Nicaragua but that those decisions would have to be taken on a case-by-by-case basis.
In a statement it warned that "political rallies and demonstrations are occurring daily, often with little notice or predictability".
"Some protests result in injuries and deaths," it says, adding that buying food and fuel could become a challenge and access to the airport in Managua could be blocked.
A human rights group says at least 27 people have been killed in total as a result of the unrest, more than double the official death toll of 10.
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