CAR: Several killed in attack on Chinese mine
Gunmen stormed a Chinese-operated gold mine in the Central African Republic on Sunday, killing nine Chinese nationals, officials said.
“We count nine bodies and two wounded,” the mayor of the neighboring town of Bambari, Abel Matchipata, told Agence France-Presse.
He said the victims were Chinese workers at a site run by the Gold Coast Group.
The attack on the Chimbolo gold mine began around 5 am local time (0400 GMT) when the gunmen overpowered the site’s guards and opened fire, Matchipata said.
The launch of the mining site took place just a few days earlier, he added.
The attack came just days after gunmen kidnapped three Chinese nationals in the west of the country, near the border with Cameroon.
The kidnappings prompted CAR chairman Faustin Archange Touadera to plan a trip to China in a bid to reassure investors.
Suspicious CPC blames Russian mercenaries
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Sunday’s attack.
But suspicions fell on the Coalition of Patriots for Change, or CPC, which operates in the area and regularly launches attacks against the country’s armed forces.
The alliance of rebel groups is aligned with former President François Bozize, who was overthrown by Muslim-dominated armed groups in 2013.
Anselme Bangue, who supports the current government of the president, classified the attack on Chinese businessmen as an act of “indescribable cowardice”.
Source: DW
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