Five Chinese mine workers have been kidnapped after a group of “unknown” gunmen attacked a mining company in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in Central Africa on Sunday.
According to the Chinese embassy in DRC, the incident took place early that morning in South Kivu province near the village of Mukera.
Regional army spokesman Major Dieudonne Kasereka also confirmed the abduction. He said there were 14 Chinese nationals in total, five were taken away by the attackers to an unknown destination adding that the other nine were safely evacuated.
One policeman was killed and another was wounded in the attack by the gunmen.
The five abducted Chinese workers were employees of a company that has been operating a gold mine in the area for four to five months, Fizi civil society head Lusambya Wanumbe said.
The embassy said the security situation in the provinces of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu is “extremely complicated and severe,” and “malignant cases” such as armed robbery and kidnapping that involve Chinese citizens have occurred many times, according to the statement.
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