Local authorities reported that two Chinese nationals and two others lost their lives in an assault on a convoy transporting gold in the lawless eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The attack on Friday was directed at a four-vehicle convoy owned by TSM Mining, which was transporting gold from a location near the Kimbi River in the South Kivu province’s Fizi region.
The attackers “stole parcels of gold which they took away into the bush,” stated Sammy Badibanga Kalondji, the leading local authority in Fizi.
The other two victims included a Congolese soldier and a driver.
Kalondji reported that three more individuals were wounded in the attack, including a Chinese mine employee, a soldier, and a mine worker from the local area.
Kalondji mentioned that the assailants were individuals from the nearby Maniema region.
China is a significant investor in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where it holds a dominant position in the highly profitable mineral mining sector.
South Kivu has been the scene of multiple attacks carried out by various armed groups and militias, and there have also been instances of tensions and violence between local communities and Chinese mining companies.