Gunmen Kill Nine Chinese at Gold Mine in Central African Republic

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. Bozize, who had previously been “aligned” with the CPC, became its “general coordinator” in March 2021.

“It was the CPC rebels who attacked the Chinese who had come to exploit the mine. They looted the Chinese machines and their homes,” Matchipata said.

“The CPC has not only slowed down the country’s economic momentum but is now attacking the foundation of development. This is unacceptable,” Anselm Bangue, a supporter of President Touadera, declared on Sunday. 

Although CPC has carried out terrorist attacks in the area around Bambari before, the group quickly denied responsibility for the gold mine attack – and instead blamed Russia’s infamous Wagner Group.

According to CPC spokesman Mamadou Koura, Wagner Group operatives hired local bandits to carry out the “cowardly and barbaric” attack on the mine “with the goal of scaring Chinese who have been present long before the Russians settled in this part of the country.”

The Wagner Group is definitely present in the CAR, at the invitation of Touadera’s administration, and human rights activists are not pleased with its performance. France’s RFI on Sunday quoted unnamed “local sources” who said Wagner mercenaries and Russian police were spotted at the Chimbolo mine in the hours after the attack.

The U.N. Human Rights Commission said in October 2021 that Russian “instructors” were violently harassing journalists, humanitarian aid workers, and ethnic minorities, and were participating in “arbitrary detention, torture, disappearances, and summary execution,” along with “sexual violence against women, men, and young girls.”

U.N. experts called on the CAR to end its relationship with the Wagner Group and other mercenaries, but in February 2023, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Wagner had a bigger presence in the CAR than ever, working with government forces to seize mineral-rich land from rebel groups, especially areas known for diamond mining.

The WSJ said Wagner’s activities were part of Russia’s bid to expand its influence in Africa, where the mercenary group now has almost as many troops stationed as the U.S. government. Wagner is also reportedly using its African client nations as recruiting grounds, enlisting recruits it refers to as “Black Russians” and deploying them to other theaters after training.

On Monday, Beijing’s embassy in Bangui issued a warning for Chinese nationals to avoid traveling outside the CAR capital due to “vicious” attacks. Chinese currently active outside Bangui were urged to return to the capital as quickly as possible.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday it has dispatched a “working group” to “coordinate the response to the attack,” operating under an “important directive” from dictator Xi Jinping. 

According to the foreign ministry statement, Xi demanded the mine attackers be “punished severely” for their actions. The statement also said China’s ambassador to the CAR has discussed the “incident” with local officials.