BUKAVU, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) – Four people including two Chinese nationals and a Ghanaian citizen were killed on Friday in an ambush on a Congolese mining company convoy in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a regional administrator said on Sunday.
It was not immediately clear who carried out the attack on the four vehicles as they left the TSM company’s mine site in Fizi, South Kivu province.
“The reason for this incident is thought to be the suspicion that the delegation had a parcel of gold,” said local administrator Sammy Badibanga Kalonji by phone.
He said the fourth victim was a Congolese soldier, while a further three people were seriously wounded.
It was not immediately possible to reach TSM for comment.
Eastern Congo is rich in minerals, but it is a challenging place to mine due to decades of insecurity fueled by various militias fighting to control land and natural resources.
(Reporting by Crispin Kyala and Ange Kasongo; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Ros Russell)
