Nine Chinese nationals killed, 2 injured in Central African Republic

Nine Chinese mine workers have been killed in an attack in the Central African Republic causing China’s President Xi Jinping to call for the perpetrators to be “severely” punished.

“The attack by armed men happened at about 5:00 am GMT near Bambari,” said the central town’s Mayor, Abel Matchipata.

According to Matchipata, “nine bodies and two wounded” had been counted, adding that the victims were Chinese workers at a site run by the Gold Coast Group, 25 kilometres from his town.

China’s foreign ministry confirmed the toll, as Xi called on authorities in the Central African Republic to “severely punish” those behind the killings.

The president had ordered “an all-out effort to treat the wounded, handle the aftermath in a timely manner, severely punish perpetrators in accordance with the law, and ensure the safety of Chinese citizens”, an unnamed China foreign ministry spokesperson said in a statement.

Local authorities did not release further details of the attack, nor was there any claim of responsibility.

The victims’ bodies were transferred to a hospital in the capital Bangui, where Chinese ambassador Li Qinfeng and CAR Foreign Minister Sylvie Baipo Temon attended, an AFP journalist said.

Civil conflict has hit the Central African Republic, one of the world’s poorest countries, since 2013, when Muslim-dominated armed groups ousted president Francois Bozize.

Xi is visiting Russia this week as Beijing seeks to claim a peacemaking role in that conflict, though Western countries have said Beijing may provide arms to Moscow.

China and Russia are bolstering their presence in Africa to tap its rich natural resources, analysts say, despite grave warnings from UN agencies that the world’s poorest countries face accumulating crippling debts.

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