Congo president killed in shooting
By ARNAUD ZAJTMAN
Associated Press Writer
KINSHASA,
Congo (AP) - President Laurent Kabila, the ruler of
this vast and troubled nation, died Tuesday after being shot, his
U.S. spokesman said. The shooting came during a coup attempt, Congo
officials said.
``He's
died,'' said John Aycoth, a lobbyist and public relations
consultant who acts as Kabila's spokesman in the United States.
Aycoth,
speaking by telephone from Durham, N.C., said he had
spoken to top level Congolese officials in Kinshasa who had
confirmed Kabila's death. He said the Congolese government would
make an announcement on what had happened at 6 a.m. Wednesday Congo
time (Tuesday midnight EST).
The shooting
could throw this vast Central African country into
further turmoil. Congo has been convulsed since rebels lauched a
civil war against Kabila more than two years ago. Fighting has
drawn in several neighboring nations, and rebels have gained
control of large swaths of eastern Congo.
French
and Belgian foreign ministry officials quoted local
sources as saying they believed he died of his injuries following
the half-hour firefight at the presidential palace here. Belgium is
Congo's former colonial ruler and retains close ties with the
nation, formerly named Zaire.
``From
three sources I have that Kabila has most likely been
shot to death,'' Belgian Foreign Affairs Minister Louis Michel said
in Brussels following a crisis meeting with the Cabinet.
Earlier,
his spokesman, Koen Vervaeke, said, ``He has probably
been shot by one of his guards.''
Intelligence
officers in Rwanda also said they had unconfirmed
reports that Kabila had been killed. Rwanda supports rebels who
have been fighting to topple the Congolese strongman for more than
two years.
The Congolese
government, however, refused to elaborate publicly
on the president's condition _ or even whether he'd been shot.
``President
Kabila is alive and everything is OK,'' said
Congolese Gen. Francois Olenga.
A member
of Kabila's security entourage said on condition of
anonymity that the bodyguard had shot the president, but that
Kabila was alive and being treated by doctors.
The conflicting
reports came hours after witnesses described
gunfire around the home of Kabila, who has been fighting multiple
rebel armies since 1998. It was unclear who was responsible for the
shooting.
A presidential
helicopter landed at Kinshasa's main hospital, a
government official who witnessed the event said, adding there were
unconfirmed reports that the aircraft was carrying Kabila's son,
Joseph Kabila, who had apparently been injured. The younger Kabila
is the head of Congo's military.
Presidential
aide Eddy Kapend went on national television
shortly after the gunfire ended to appeal for calm, but he made no
mention of the incident.
The bleary-eyed
Kapend ordered that all airports and borders be
closed, appealing to the armed forces and civil society leaders to
help maintain order.
``The
Congolese people need your serenity and your discipline,''
he said.
Later,
Congolese Interior Minister Gaetan Kakudji announced an 8
p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew he said was ordered by Kabila himself.
Kakudji
also put all fighting units in Kinshasa on alert until
further notice.
Amid the
confusion of the shooting, Kinshasa residents hurried
home and many streets were quickly deserted. Truckloads of armed
soldiers patrolled the streets in Congo's capital city.
Large
numbers of troops in armored vehicles and on foot blocked
off roads near Kabila's hilltop residence, not far from downtown
Kinshasa. The presidential residence, known as the Marble Palace,
is usually heavily guarded by troops and a North Korean-made tank.
U.S. officials
in Washington warned Americans in Kinshasa to
stay indoors following the shooting. No overall number of U.S.
citizens in Congo was available, but there are 55 Americans in the
diplomatic community.
There
was no immediate comment from either the State Department
or the White House on the shooting.
Kabila
has been fighting a civil war since August 1998, when
rebel forces backed by his former allies, Rwanda and Uganda, turned
against him. In the war's early stages, the rebels reached the
outskirts of Kinshasa before being turned back by Kabila's army,
which is now supported by Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
Speaking
from Brussels, Kin-Kiey Mulumba, a spokesman for one of
the main rebel movements, insisted Kabila was dead. The shooting
proved that the Congolese people wanted a change, he said, denying
that rebels had anything to do with it.
``Something
big happened in our country this afternoon. People
want change,'' he said.
Kabila
came to power in May 1997 following a Uganda- and
Rwanda-sponsored rebellion against former dictator Mobutu Sese
Seko.
The world
community initially welcomed Kabila, who many hoped
would be a vast improvement over Mobutu's decades-long rule, which
left his nation desperately broke and with an infrastructure that
barely functioned.
But Kabila
quickly alienated himself, inviting close friends and
relatives into the government, angering investors and obstructing a
United Nations investigation of reports that his rebel army had
slaughtered thousands of Hutu refugees.
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