Kinshasa calm after coup attempt

Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), was calm on Friday following an attempted coup by a section of the presidential guard, a UN official told IRIN.

"However, it is difficult to assess the security situation for the general population and the humanitarian community in the city," said Maj Abou Thiam, the military spokesman of the UN Mission in the DRC, known as MONUC.

Earlier, DRC President Joseph Kabila addressed the nation over state radio and television, urging the public to continue with their daily activities as the situation was under control.

Foreign Minister Antoine Ghonda had told IRIN at 05:15 local time (4:15 GMT) that the coup attempt had been foiled, and those responsible arrested. A group of presidential guards had announced on state radio and television at 02:40 local time that they had neutralised the institutions of the transitional government.

Ghonda noted that the coup plotters did not have support from either the members of the current government or external forces.

Thiam said MONUC fully supported the transitional government and condemned any threat to the peace process. He added that MONUC was monitoring the situation closely.

Friday's coup attempt came as calm returned to the eastern town of Bukavu, where dissident DRC army troops had fought loyalists since 26 May. The dissidents withdrew on Tuesday, and the loyalists re-entered the town on Wednesday.

A governor and two deputies, appointed by the transitional government, were installed in Bukavu on Friday, at a ceremony presided over by Interior Minister Theophile Mbemba.

The transitional government in Kinshasa, comprising representatives of former rebel movements, the previous government and the unarmed opposition, has been in power since June 2003.