Kabila murder suspects arrested

It is thought that Laurent Kabila was assassinated by a bodyguard

Two top Congolese officials are reported to have been arrested in connection with the assassination of the former president, Laurent Kabila.

The two men are named as Colonel Edy Kapend, the late president's aide-de-camp, and one of his close associates, General Nawej Yav, commander of the Kinshasa military region.

Nothing official has been said about the reports.

Colonel Kapend was the first official to appear on television after the shooting of Kabila

The late president was shot dead in January in mysterious circumstances.

At the time, the government said that the president was shot by one of his bodyguards, who was himself shot dead immediately afterwards.

The president's son, Joseph Kabila, was quickly appointed president, and announced that there would be an immediate official inquiry into the shooting.

Influential

Colonel Kapend was the first Congolese official to appear on television after the shooting of Laurent Kabila.

He said was ordering the closure of the country's borders.

This raised suspicions at the time because he did not have the authority to make the statement.

Both Colonel Kapend and Geberal Yav belong to the Lunda ethnic group which has close ties with people in neighbouring Angola - an ally of the Kinshasa government.

This has raised the possibility that the arrests are part of a power struggle within the Kabila government.