In a message released at the end of Sunday by the AU, Moussa Faki Mahamat took the opportunity to condemn "any use of force to alter the constitutional order in any African State, whatever it may be", after having "followed with great concern" the attacks on the residences of the President and the Congolese Deputy Prime Minister.

Mahamat also applauded the fact that the leaders of the institutions were "safe and sound".

Several dozen Congolese and foreign men, in uniform and armed, failed on Sunday morning in their attempted coup d'état to overthrow the President, Félix Tshisekedi, and establish a "new Zaire", inspired by the dictatorial regime of Mobutu Sese Seco, at the end of the last century.

In a statement denouncing the attack, the Government of the DRCongo states that the attackers were of "various nationalities", led by the leader of the Congolese diaspora, Christian Malanga, who was killed in the attack.

The spokesman for the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), Sylvain Ekenge, who stated in a brief message on public television on Sunday morning that he had "nipped in the bud" the "coup d'état attempt", said that the attackers - all killed or detained - were both Congolese and foreign, although without specifying any other nationalities.

However, the United States Ambassador to the DRCongo, Lucy Tamlyn, said she was "very concerned" about the alleged involvement of US citizens and assured on her social media account that her country would cooperate with the Congolese authorities in the investigation.

In the early hours of the morning, Malanga posted several videos on the social network Facebook showing a group of armed men in military uniform, including his 22-year-old son Marcel Malanga, in the hall and gardens of the Palace of the Nation, Tshisekedi's residence.

"Enjoy the liberation of our new Zaire", Malanga shouted in English, while his supporters burned flags of the DRCongo, a neighboring country of Angola.

Around 4:30 local time (same time in Lisbon), armed men also invaded the residence of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Vital Kamerhe, in an assault in which he and his family were unharmed, but which left at least three dead: Two police officers in charge of the politician's security and one of the attackers.

Security was reinforced in the La Gombe district of Kinshasa, where the two residences and some of the main government and diplomatic headquarters of the DRCongo are located.

Christian Malanga, who called himself a commander and often wore a military uniform, was well known in Congolese diaspora circles in the United States for his speeches against Tshisekedi's government, which he described as a "dictatorial regime".

He led the New Zaire movement and the United Congolese Party (PCU), which brings together Congolese people living all over the world, and even declared his intention to run for the Presidency of the Republic.

Born in 1983 in the then Republic of Zaire, Malanga lived in South Africa and present-day Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), before settling in Salt Lake City (Utah, United States), after his father was exiled from the DRCongo in 1990.

In photos posted on social media, he can be seen with popular opposition leader Martin Fayulu, who many consider the legitimate winner of the 2018 elections, after which Tshisekedi came to power.

Read Also: UN condemns "vehemently" coup attempt in the DRCongo (Portuguese version)