Congolese forces claim to have thwarted coup ‘involving foreign nationals’

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Defence and security forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo said they had thwarted an “attempted coup” against the government of the mineral-rich nation on Sunday in the capital Kinshasa.

“An attempted coup d’état was nipped in the bud by the defence and security forces. This attempt involved foreign and Congolese nationals,” army spokesperson General Sylvain Ekenge said in a brief televised address. He added that those taking part had been “neutralised, including their leader”. 

Unverified videos on social media show men in fatigues in the early hours of Sunday holding AK-47 assault rifles at the Palais de la Nation, the seat of the presidency in Kinshasa. Most bear the flag of the former Zaire — as the central African country was known when ruled by the late US-backed dictator Mobutu Sese Seko — though some seem to be wearing patches with the US flag.

Local media reported that self-exiled politician Christian Malanga of the United Congolese Party appeared to be behind the alleged putsch. A senior Congolese government official said that the first “lines of inquiry” pointed to Malanga being behind the attempted coup, but that there might be others.

In a live video stream early on Sunday on a Facebook page appearing to belong to Malanga, a man wearing camouflage believed to be the opposition figure is seen at the entrance to the office building of President Félix Tshisekedi flanked by men in fatigues holding the green and yellow Zairean flag.

“Félix you are out — we are coming for you,” the man believed to be Malanga said in the video, after a post with the phrase “New Zaire”.

On Sunday, images on social media that have not been independently verified, showed several men being rounded up by authorities, including one believed to be Malanga’s son and a white man holding a US passport.

In late December, Tshisekedi was declared the winner in presidential elections with more than 72 per cent of the vote. The result granted him a second term ruling the resource-rich nation, but opposition candidates claimed the vote was fraudulent.

The DRC has enormous mineral wealth such as cobalt, a key component for the battery industry, though it remains one of the poorest countries on earth and is beset by a brutal war in the east.

“I am shocked by the events of this morning and very concerned by reports of American citizens allegedly involved,” US ambassador to DRC Lucy Tamlyn wrote on social media platform X.

The attempted putsch included an attack on the residence of economy minister Vital Kamerhe, a prominent politician, according to his spokesman, Michel Moto Muhima.

A shell fired from Kinshasa hit Brazzaville, the capital city of the neighbouring Republic of the Congo, injuring several people, that country’s government said in a statement.

The UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC condemned the violence.

“Attackers have been incapacitated,” said Patrick Muyaya, the Congolese government’s minister of communications.