Coup plot thwarted in the Democratic Republic of Congo

In a televised statement, DR Congo military spokesman Sylvain Ekenge said defense and security forces had foiled a coup attempt in the capital Kinshasa. The spokesman also said the coup attempt involved foreigners, but he did not specify which countries.

Some sources said that the military has now controlled the situation and people in the capital can travel safely.

Meanwhile, according to local media, on the morning of May 19, a group of armed men broke into the residences of politicians and the offices of foreign diplomatic missions in the capital Kinshasa.

Witnesses said they heard loud gunshots at around 4:30 a.m. (around 10:30 a.m. the same day in Vietnam) near the residence of MP Vital Kamerhe, who is currently a candidate for the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The attackers clashed with police, killing at least three people, two of whom were police officers.

In addition, the group of attackers also broke into the symbolic workplace of the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the capital Kinshasa and live-streamed the action on the social networking platform Facebook.

President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, mainly works from the government complex located in the Ngaliema area of ​​the capital Kinshasa.