A number of US citizens and one British citizen are among the organizers of an attempted coup in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Agence France-Presse reported, citing DRC army spokesman Sylvain Ekenge.
According to the report, the DRC army spokesman said a number of perpetrators, including an American and a British citizen, were "naturalized" by authorities during the coup attempt, which was foiled Sunday morning in Kinshasa.
In all, DRC law enforcement officials arrested about 40 attackers, while four others, including the ringleader, Christian Malanga, who was a Congolese with US citizenship, were killed, the agency reported.
Earlier in the day, the DRC's armed forces were reported to have foiled a coup attempt. According to the country's army spokesman, Sylvain Ekenge, foreigners were involved.
The local publication Actualite reported that shots were heard near the residence of Economy Minister Vital Kamerhe in the Gombe neighborhood in the north of the capital, near the Palais de la Nation, which houses the presidential offices. At least three people, including police officers, were killed.
The situation has now been brought under control. Later, the Actu30 portal reported that the leader of the rebels who attempted a coup in the DRC had been eliminated.
In response to reports of the involvement of US citizens in the coup attempt, the US Ambassador in Kinshasa, Lucy Tamlyn, said that the US government was ready to cooperate in investigating the incident and bringing those American citizens to justice.
"I am shocked by this morning's events and very concerned by reports of American citizens allegedly involved," she said in a statement on social media. "Please be assured that we will cooperate with the DRC authorities to the fullest extent possible as they investigate these criminal acts and hold accountable any US citizens implicated in criminal acts."