The leader of an attempted coup on Sunday in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been killed and some 50 people including 3 American citizens arrested, a spokesperson for the Central African country’s army told Reuters.

Gunfire rang out around 4am in the capital Kinshasa, a Reuters reporter said. Armed men attacked the presidency in the city centre, according to spokesperson Sylvain Ekenge.

Another attack took place at the nearby home of Vital Kamerhe, a member of parliament who is tipped to become speaker, Kamerhe’s spokesperson, Michel Moto Muhima, and the Japanese ambassador said in posts on Twitter/X. Moto Muhima said two guards and an attacker had been killed in that incident. Ekenge also said one attacker was killed there.

A shell fired from Kinshasa hit the city of Brazzaville in neighbouring Republic of Congo, injuring several people that country’s government said in a statement, adding that one person had been hospitalised.

Ekenge named Christian Malanga, a US-based Congolese politician, as the leader of the attempted coup.

“Malanga was definitively neutralised during the attack on the Palais de la Nation, a certain Aboubacar was neutralised during the attack on the residence of Vital Kamarhe the others – around 50 including three American citizens – were arrested and are currently undergoing interrogation by the specialised services of the Armed Forces,” Ekenge told Reuters.