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A crew of as-yet unidentified gunmen attacked a Chinese-operated gold mine in the Central African Republic (CAR) on Sunday, killing nine Chinese nationals and injuring two more.
The Chinese government warned its citizens not to travel outside the CAR capital of Bangui in the wake of the attack, while dictator Xi Jinping demanded “severe punishment” for the perpetrators.
The attack on the Chimbolo gold mine, located near the town of Bambari, took place at roughly 5:00 a.m. local time. The mine had security, but according to Bambari mayor Abel Matchipata, the guards were quickly “overpowered” by the attackers.
The mine, operated by the Gold Coast Group, was only formally opened for business a few days before the attack. Last week also saw gunmen kidnap three Chinese nationals near the CAR’s border with Cameroon, an event that prompted CAR President Faustin Archange Touadera to announce a trip to China to reassure investors there. Touadera’s trip will presumably become more urgent, and difficult, after Sunday’s mine attack.
The chief suspect in the attack is a militant group called Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC), which is nominally led by former CAR president Francois Bozize. Bozize seized power by force in 2003 but was himself ejected by a coup in 2013.
Shortly before the presidential elections of 2020, six armed rebel groups combined to become the CPC and launched a major offensive that brought them close to Bangui, but they were driven back by government troops.
