Forces loyal to Congo's leader crushed a coup attempt by renegades within his own presidential guard in fighting that sent gunfire and explosions echoing through the capital of Africa's third-largest nation.
The crisis on Friday was the second this month for the 14-month-old government led by President Joseph Kabila, established to close a 1998 to 2002 war that was Africa's deadliest ever.
Kabila, appearing on state TV in khaki uniform hours after the uprising's leaders were sent fleeing, told Congolese to brace for future challenges.
"Stay calm, prepare yourself to resist -- because I will allow nobody to try a coup d'etat or to throw off course our peace process," Kabila declared.
"As for me, I'm fine," added the 32-year-old president, whose appearance quashed rumors he had been injured or killed.
At stake was the stability of Congo, and with it central Africa. Congo's five-year war had drawn in the armies of five foreign African countries, splitting a nation that before the war was one of the world's largest mineral producers, including the No. 3 exporter of rough diamonds and holder of 80 percent of the globe's cobalt reserves.
Relief workers say the war killed 3.3 million people.
By late afternoon, the officer behind Friday's attempted coup was on the run south of the capital with 21 of his men, pursued by loyalist troops backed by helicopter, presidential spokesman Kadura Kasonga said.
The officer, Major Eric Lenge, had been a trusted aide frequently photographed behind Kabila at official functions, including Kabila's 2001 inauguration -- which followed the assassination of Kabila's father by his own presidential bodyguards.
Lenge launched the coup attempt by commandeering state broadcast centers after midnight. He announced he was "neutralizing" the transition government.
Condemning Kabila's government as ineffective, Lenge appealed to members of Congo's armed forces to stay in their barracks and accede to the takeover.
Loyalist forces routed Lenge and his fighters from the broadcast headquarters, sending the mutin-eers retreating to a presidential guard base in the capital.
Information Minister Vitale Kamerhe then appeared on state airwaves before dawn to declare "the situation entirely under control," without a shot fired.
Some of Lenge's forces later appeared in the heart of the capital, on foot and in two tanks and an armored personnel carrier crowded with troops, diplomats said -- allegedly trying unsuccessfully to surrender to either the US or British embassies or Congo's UN mission.
Congo government and military leaders described Lenge and his followers breaking out of the base and fleeing, first to Kinshasa's international airport and then to the south of the city, toward the Bas Congo region.
Security forces had arrested 12 of the fleeing men, Kabila said on state TV.
It was unclear how many troops took part in the failed coup. Accounts by officials ranged from 20 to the low hundreds.
Diplomats said the dissident forces expressed grievances about pay, in partial or full arrears by the government for months.
The coup attempt was the second military uprising against the postwar government after a previous five years of peace in the capital.
In March, hundreds of troops attacked military installations in a capital uprising also linked by some accounts to grievances over pay.
Loyalist forces crushed that uprising as well.
Friday's coup attempt came two days after government forces to the east retook a town on Rwanda's border from renegade ex-rebel fighters.
Capture of Bukavu after the seven-day takeover had ended the greatest military crisis for the postwar government.
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
GLOBAL PROJECT: Underseas cables ‘are the nervous system of democratic connectivity,’ which is under stress, Member of the European Parliament Rihards Kols said The government yesterday launched an initiative to promote global cooperation on improved security of undersea cables, following reported disruptions of such cables near Taiwan and around the world. The Management Initiative on International Undersea Cables aims to “bring together stakeholders, align standards, promote best practices and turn shared concerns into beneficial cooperation,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said at a seminar in Taipei. The project would be known as “RISK,” an acronym for risk mitigation, information sharing, systemic reform and knowledge building, he said at the seminar, titled “Taiwan-Europe Subsea Cable Security Cooperation Forum.” Taiwan sits at a vital junction on
RSS