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Gunmen Target Congo's Defense Minister
Attackers opened fire on the home of the Republic of Congo's defense minister Wednesday in an apparent assassination attempt.
The minister, Itihi Ossetoumba Lekoundzo, escaped injury. Military officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, linked the attack to disgruntled senior officers.
Witnesses said the attack opened before midnight Tuesday with the sound of grenade blasts at Lekoundzo's house, in the center of Brazzaville.
Rocket fire followed, and an exchange of gunfire between the minister's guards and the attackers that lasted more than 10 minutes.
Attackers fled with the arrival of police reinforcements. There was no word of any injuries or deaths.
The army's spokesman, Jean Robert Obargui, played down the rocket and grenade attack, calling it a "minor incident."
The violence came a day after the compulsory retirement of several senior army officers. Most of the retired officers had never agreed to quit and give up their privileges, said one senior intelligence officer.
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