3 Americans among 50 detained after failed coup in DR Congo

The leader of an attempted coup on Sunday in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been killed, and around 50 people, including three American citizens, have been arrested, a spokesman for the Central African country's army told Reuters.

Gunfire rang out around 4 a.m. in the capital, Kinshasa, according to a Reuters reporter. Armed men attacked the presidency in the city center, said spokesman Sylvain Ekenge. Another attack took place at the nearby home of Vital Kamerhe, a member of parliament tipped to become speaker, according to Kamerhe's spokesman, Michel Moto Muhima, and the Japanese ambassador in posts on X.

Moto Muhima reported that two guards and an attacker were killed in that incident. Ekenge also confirmed that one attacker was killed there. Additionally, a shell fired from Kinshasa hit the city of Brazzaville in the neighboring Republic of Congo, injuring several people, with one person hospitalized, according to that country's government.

Ekenge identified Christian Malanga, a U.S.-based Congolese politician, as the leader of the attempted coup. "Malanga was definitively neutralized during the attack on the Palais de la Nation. A certain Aboubacar was neutralized during the attack on the residence of Vital Kamerhe.