DRC: One policeman killed, Five Chinese kidnapped in gold mine attack

Five Chinese working in a gold mine were kidnapped, one Congolese policeman killed and another wounded by unidentified armed men on Saturday night in South Kivu, eastern DR Congo, military and local sources said.

"Around 2 a.m., the camp of a group of Chinese was attacked by armed bandits" in Mukera, a village located about 25 km from Fizi-center, said Major Dieudonné Kasereka, army spokesman in the region. "There were 14 in total, five were taken away by the assailants to an unknown destination," he added. The other nine were evacuated to safety, he added.

According to Colonel David Epanga, commander of the DRC Armed Forces regiment in Fizi, one policeman was killed and one wounded during the attack.

The abducted Chinese were staff of a company that had been operating a gold mine in the area for four to five months, said Lusambya Wanumbe, president of the Fizi civil society.

According to him, "the company had difficulty starting its activities, because of protests from the population accusing it of not respecting the standards.