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Kabila hunts rebel behind failed coup

People try to get transport as Kinshasa's streets remained almost deserted after a coup attempt in Congo on Friday. PHOTO: AP

Congo's government said on Saturday it was hunting the leader of a failed coup d'etat after the renegade presidential guard fled south of the capital, chased by army vehicles and helicopters.

President Joseph Kabila's administration dismissed opposition allegations that it had exaggerated or even faked the coup attempt as an excuse to clamp down ahead of next year's elections.

Forces loyal to Kabila routed soldiers led by Major Eric Lenge on Friday, after the renegade presidential guard commandeered state radio to announce he was "neutralizing" Kabila's transitional government.

"We are continuing to chase Eric Lenge, but we haven't caught him yet," Deputy Information Minister Simon Tshitenge told reporters. "We will capture him."

Kinshasa was rocked by the sound of booming artillery early Friday, as the rebellious presidential guards fought Kabila loyalists, according to diplomats and witnesses.

The coup attempt was the latest in a sudden spate of trouble for Kabila's 14-month-old power-sharing government, established to close a 1998-2002 war that was Africa's deadliest ever.

In an address on state television late Friday, Kabila said the attempted coup by Lenge -- a trusted aide frequently photographed behind the president at official functions -- was "an act of serious indiscipline which will be severely repressed."

Kabila reiterated his support for the peace process leading to elections next year.

Kudura Kasango, a Kabila spokesman, said Lenge's military vehicle was found abandoned as troops were pursuing him south of the capital, Kinshasa, in the direction of Angola. He did not give further details.

Meanwhile, Congo's main opposition party and some Congolese media and citizens accused Kabila of fabricating the coup attempt to delay elections and justify attempts to increase his powers.

"To us, it looks like a masquerade in very bad taste," said Valentin Mubake Nombi, an official of the Union for Social Democracy and Progress, asking how Lenge managed to flee with only about 20 soldiers protecting him.

Nombi said Kabila aimed to strengthen his popularity after violent anti-government protests earlier this month, and said the president may try to use the coup attempt to push for increased powers.

"I don't know how anyone can say it was a masquerade. The facts are there for all to see," Tshitenge said. "Do they have the proof that it was not real? We don't think they do."

In the east, Brigadier General Mbuza Mabe of Congo's national army said his forces fought rebellious troops led by Colonel Jules Mutebutsi in the village of Kamanyola -- in gold-rich South Kivu province -- for the third consecutive day on Saturday.

Mutebutsi, with Brigadier General Laurent Nkunda, took control of the city of Bukavu for seven days earlier this month -- the biggest military setback to Congo's power-sharing government, whose forces recaptured the town on Wednesday.

Mutebutsi had been trying to escape south after fleeing Bukavu, Mabe said. "My men were there also, and confronted him."

Mabe said the army was fighting "to defend national territory and ensure the safety of our people," adding that he was not seeking to capture Mutebutsi.

He said Mutebutsi had received troop reinforcements since he retreated from Bukavu on Wednesday, but gave no further details.
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