DRC mine gun attack leaves three Chinese nationals dead
Three Chinese nationals were killed in a gunfight in a mining area in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Monday, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua said, citing the Chinese embassy in the mineral-rich Central African country.
The attack took place on Saturday in the northeastern province of Ituri, which borders Uganda and South Sudan, Xinhua said, without naming the mine in question or the company that operates it. “Unfortunately, three Chinese citizens were killed,” he added.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the world’s largest producer of mined cobalt – a major component of batteries for electric vehicles – and one of the largest copper producers in Africa, although the main region for the production of copper cobalt is located far southwest of the state.
Despite security risks, the country has attracted multi-billion dollar investments from Chinese miners in recent years. Canadian gold miner Banro, who owns mines in Maniema, a province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo south of Ituri, closed last year after several of its mines were overrun by armed rebels.
The Chinese embassy has asked the Congolese government to take “effective measures to protect the lives and property of Chinese citizens” in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and to speed up the investigation into the murders, Xinhua said, noting that the embassy has done so on numerous times. The Chinese Citizens Council has refused to go to Ituri due to the presence of armed groups.
The embassy did not immediately respond to an email request for a comment on Monday, a public holiday in China.
