BUKAVU: Two Chinese nationals and two others were killed in an attack on a convoy carrying gold in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s lawless east, local authorities said on Saturday.

Friday’s ambush targeted a four-vehicle convoy belonging to TSM Mining which was carrying gold from a site near the Kimbi river in the Fizi region of South Kivu province.

The attackers “stole parcels of gold which they took away into the bush,” said Sammy Badibanga Kalondji, the top local official in Fizi.

The two others killed were a Congolese soldier and a driver. Kalondji said three others were wounded in the attack — a Chinese mine employee and two locals : a soldier and a mine worker.

He said the attackers were locals from the neighbouring Maniema region. China is a major investor in DRC, where the Asian power dominates the lucrative mineral mining industry.

South Kivu is the theatre of several attacks staged by armed groups and militias and there have been tensions and violence between locals and Chinese mining firms.

Published in Dawn, September 3rd, 2023