Gunfire in DRC capital Kinshasa

(Vatican Radio) Fighting broke out on Monday at several locations in the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kinshasa.

Gunshots were initially reported on Monday morning from the headquarters of RTNC, the national Congolese radio and television service. According to Congolese police, reporters were taken hostage by youths armed with machetes and guns. The information minister has said the situation has now been brought under control, and several arrests have already been made.

Before the television and radio channels went off air, two gunmen appeared on camera allegedly announcing: “Gideon Mukungubila has come to free you from the slavery of the Rwandan." In 1997 the DRC's long-serving ruler Mobutu Sese Seko was ousted by Rwandan-backed troops and replaced with Laurent Kabila, who was then assassinated in 2001. He was succeeded as President by his son Joseph Kabila, who won a second term in office two years ago.

Shortly after the attack on RTNC, Kinshasa’s airport also came under fire, with one customs official reporting airport staff forced to hide from the shooting. Reports also emerged throughout the morning of shooting at a military base elsewhere in the city.

Monday’s violence compounds fears over regional instability, with both the DRC’s northern neighbours, South Sudan and the Central African Republic, facing political upheaval, frequent outbreaks of violence, and rapidly worsening humanitarian crises.

Listen to Giulia Cirillo's report: