At least four Chinese nationals have been killed in a militia attack on a mining site in the gold-rich Ituri province of north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, local sources said.
Several Congolese were also killed or wounded in the attack, which local sources said was carried out by Codeco, a militia that claims to be defending Lendu interests against rival Hema tribesmen.
Attacks on mining sites and convoys are common in Ituri and further south in South Kivu, another gold-rich province that is home to many Chinese miners and where conflict over gold is also frequent between Congolese residents and Chinese miners.
“Codeco has invaded a Chinese mining site not far from the town of Abombi in the Djugu region of Ituri province,” said Jean-Pierre Bikilizande, a member of parliament for the province.
“The provisional death toll is four Chinese nationals and two FARDC (Congolese army) personnel wounded,” he added.
01:25
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Other local sources said the casualties included six Chinese nationals and their bodyguards, two Congolese army soldiers and two civilians.
“There have been other kidnapped people and we don’t know if they are still alive,” said Diudone Mombiani, mayor of the nearby administrative district.
The Chinese Embassy in the Democratic Republic of Congo was not immediately available for comment Wednesday.
Dozens of civilians have been killed in Codeco attacks on villages in the state since the beginning of the year.
Inter-communal violence left thousands dead in Ituri between 1999 and 2003, but calm was restored following the intervention of European troops. Conflict erupted again in 2017, killing thousands more and causing mass displacement.
Southern Ituri province has also suffered tribal violence spilling over from neighbouring North Kivu province, which has been devastated by attacks by rebels from the Islamic State-linked Allied Democratic Forces group.
Originally a primarily Ugandan Muslim rebel group, the ADF has established a base in eastern Congo over the past three decades and has killed thousands of civilians.
