Reports of a coup attempt against President Denis Nguesso, who has held office for 39 years, have been refuted by the Congo-Brazzaville government.
It comes after unverified rumors on social media that the military was attempting to remove the 79-year-old leader, who is now attending the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
On Sunday, Thierry Moungalla, the information minister, wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “The government denies this fake news.”
“We reassure the public that calm prevails and encourage people to conduct themselves in a calm manner.”
A denial of the rumors of a coup attempt was also issued on the government’s website.
Africa has experienced a series of coups in recent months, with the most recent taking place in the adjacent country of Gabon in January.
In 1979, a military revolution brought Mr. Nguesso to power in the oil-producing nation of central Africa. He lost the first multiparty elections in Congo in 1992, but following a civil war, he took back control in 1997.
After Equatoguinean Teodoro Obiang and Cameroonian Paul Biya, the Congolese president has been in office for the third-longest period of time in Africa.
