UPDATE
Sep 13, 2024 2:49 PM CDT
Three Americans have been sentenced to death for taking part in a failed coup attempt in the Democratic Republic of Congo, reports CNN. Marcel Malanga, 21; Tyler Thompson Jr., 21; and Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, 36, received the sentences Friday along with 34 others arrested in May. Malanga is the son of opposition figure Christian Malanga, who authorities say led the coup attempt and was killed during his arrest. The defendants have five days to appeal, per the AP. The families of all three men say they are innocent, with Thompson's relatives saying he was there on vacation.
May 20, 2024 9:35 AM CDT
The army of the Democratic Republic of Congo said it arrested several foreigners in a foiled coup attempt early Sunday, following attacks on the presidential palace and the residence of a close ally of Congo's president that left three people dead in the capital, Kinshasa. At first, local media identified the armed men as Congolese soldiers, but they then reported the men were linked to self-exiled opposition figure Christian Malanga, who later posted a video on Facebook threatening President Felix Tshisekedi. Malanga was killed at the presidential palace after he resisted arrest by guards, Congolese army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Sylvain Ekenge said. Among the perpetrators were three Americans, including the son of Malanga, Ekenge later told the AP.
Early Sunday, Malanga appeared in a livestreamed video at the presidential palace surrounded by several people in military uniform and said: "Felix, you're out. We are coming for you." On his website, the opposition leader's group—the United Congolese Party (UCP)—is described as "a grassroots platform that unifies the Congolese diaspora around the world opposing the current Congolese dictatorship." Tshisekedi hasn't yet addressed the public about Sunday's events. The United States Embassy in Congo issued a security alert Sunday, urging caution after "reports of gunfire."
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