Gunmen attack DR Congo army base, State television

Gunmen yesterday attacked DR Congo’s State television, military headquarters and an international airport in what appeared to be an attempted coup.The attacks were reportedly supporters of religious leader Paul Joseph Mukungubila, who lost the 2006 presidential elections to incumbent Joseph Kabila.The Kinshasa government switched off all broadcast channels following the attack and heavy gunfire.The attackers had also taken journalists at the public broadcaster - RTNC.A video posted on YouTube showed a man who seemed to be threatening two presenters in the studio. The incident left the entire capital in panic.French News agency AFP reported that, Police officers, soldiers and Republican Guard forces fanned out across the capital to restore security. Traffic was slowed down and security forces were restricting the movements of civilians in some districts.Mukungubila, who calls himself ‘The prophet of the Eternal’, ran unsuccessfully for the presidency against Kabila in 2006.For decades, DRC, which is home to a 21,000-strong United Nations peacekeeping mission (Monusco), has struggled to emerge from violence and instability that have marred the country.Various rebel groups operate in different parts of the DRC whose leadership has been criticised for failure to use the country’s vast resources to improve the welfare of its citizens.

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Gunmen attack DR Congo army base, State television