In the lawless east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, an attack on a convoy carrying gold left two Chinese nationals and two other people dead.
The TSM Mining convoy of four vehicles was ambushed on Friday as it was transporting gold from a location near the Kimbi river in the Fizi district of South Kivu province.
Sammy Badibanga Kalondji, a representative of Fizi, claimed that the attackers “stole parcels of gold which they took away into the bush.”
A driver and a soldier from the DRC were the two additional victims.
A Chinese mine worker, two locals, a soldier, and a mine worker, according to Kalondji, were also injured in the incident.
He said that the attackers came from the nearby Maniema district.
The Asian power dominates the lucrative mineral mining sector in the DRC, where China is a significant investor.
Armed groups have mounted many attacks in South Kivu, and there have been clashes and violence between the local population and Chinese mining companies.