The Belgian foreign minister has said that the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Laurent Kabila, was shot dead by one of his own bodyguards during an apparent coup d'etat. Kabila was earlier reported to have been seriously wounded. According to the reports, Kabila was shot in the back and leg. He was taken to hospital in the capital, Kinshasa. Earlier, Congo's Interior Minister said that Mr Kabila had ordered what he called a security alert when gunshots were heard near the presidential palace. Rebels, with support from some neighbouring countries, have been fighting Kabila's government since 1998.
