African Union 'strongly condemns' DRCongo coup bid

The head of the African Union Commission said he was following events in the Democratic Republic of Congo with "great concern" and "strongly condemns" an attempted coup there.

The DR Congo military said on Sunday it had foiled a coup bid near the offices of President Felix Tshisekedi in the capital Kinshasa involving "foreigners and Congolese".

Shots were heard near the Palais de la Nation that houses the president's offices at the time of the coup attempt in the early hours of Sunday, according to a number of sources.

AU Commission chair Moussa Faki Mahamat "strongly condemns this attempted coup d'etat and welcomes the control of the situation announced by the country's defence and security forces", the AU said in a statement issued late Sunday.

"He is delighted that all the leaders of republican institutions are safe and sound," the statement said.

"He takes this opportunity to condemn any use of force to change the constitutional order in any African state whatsoever."

It happened in the early hours of the morning outside the residence of Economy Minister Vital Kamerhe, in the Gombe area in the north of the capital, near the Palais de la Nation that houses the president's offices, a spokesman said.

"An attempted coup d'etat has been stopped by the defence and security forces," said General Sylvain Ekenge in a message broadcast on national television.

Shots were also heard near the Palais de la Nation at the time of the coup attempt, according to a number of sources.

Later on Sunday, army spokesman General Sylvain Ekenge said several Americans and a British man were part of the group involved in the operation.

The coup bid was led by Christian Malanga, a Congolese man who was a "naturalised...