Americans and a British Congolese were among those who attempted a coup in the Congo, police authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo said on May 19, Le Figaro newspaper reported.
According to a statement by General Sylvain Ekenge, about forty of the attackers were detained, while four more, including their leader, “a certain Christian Malanga, a Congolese naturalized from the United States,” were neutralized by security forces.
“Very concerned by the information about American citizens allegedly involved in the attempted coup d’état, condemned by the Congolese authorities. “Rest assured that we will cooperate with the authorities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”said US Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo Lucy Tumlin.
Christian Malanga and his group “tried to attack institutions,” an army spokesman said. According to him, they first intended to attack the homes of the new Prime Minister, Judith Suminwa, and the Minister of Defense, Jean-Pierre Bemba. But “they could not determine the place of residence” first and “lost” the second at home. Then they “attacked the residence of Vital Camera,” the Minister of Economy, who was at his residence with his family.
He and his family members were not injured, but two police officers who were providing protection to them were killed, a person close to the minister also said. The attackers then marched to the Palace of Nations, where they raised the flag of Zaire, the former name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since the days of Mobutu Sese Seko, the dictator overthrown in 1997.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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