DRC: calm restored as army foils ‘attempted coup’ involving US, UK plotters

Democratic Republic of Congo army foiled an attempted coup early Sunday (19 May), the country’s authorities have said, alleging that the coup plotters included some US and UK citizens, and they were led by a Congolese “naturalized American” named Christian Malanga.
The streets of DRC’s capital, Kinshasa, appeared calm on Sunday after the army announced it had foiled a coup attempt earlier in the day, in which dozens of heavily armed gunmen stormed the president’s office, calling for the ouster of President Felix Tshisekedi. Malanga, an alleged coup leader, had been “definitively neutralized” — killed, along with three others — and around 40 of the attackers had been arrested by the security forces, according to the army spokesperson, General Slyvain Ekenge. The armed attack that took place outside the residence of former Deputy Prime Minister Vital Kamerhe, near the Palais de la Nation that houses President Felix Tshisekedi’s offices, also involved several Americans and a British national, Ekenge added.
The group had reportedly also planned to attack the home of the new Prime Minister Judith Suminwa, and the residence of Defense Minister Jean-Pierre Bemba. The armed men were first identified as Congolese soldiers, but local media then reported the group was linked to self-exiled opposition leader Malanga, who appeared in a live-streamed video, saying “Felix, you’re out. We are coming for you,” in reference to President Tshisekedi. The latest turmoil may further aggravate tensions stemming from the ongoing armed conflict in the east, where DRC forces are battling M23 rebels in North Kivu province, displacing over a million people since last year.