A militant group known as the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo (CODECO) attacked a gold mine linked to China on Wednesday, killing six Chinese miners and two Congolese soldiers.
The attackers also kidnapped some of the miners and set fire to the nearby village of Gambala.
CODECO, despite its bureaucratic-sounding name, is an exceptionally vicious tribal militia — one of the dozens of brutal terrorist groups plaguing the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). CODECO has been known to murder men, women, and children, often with machetes. Its targets, which include refugee camps and humanitarian aid workers, are often selected without any clear motivation.
CODECO claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on Gambala and the Camp Blanquette gold mine, located in the DRC’s gold-rich northeastern Ituri province. Camp Blanquette is a small “artisanal” gold mine worked primarily by local tribesmen, but a privately funded Chinese enterprise is also working the site.
Camp Blanquette is located in an area claimed by another armed group, the Zaire Militia, which has long fought CODECO for land, influence, and money. The Zaire Militia began as a splinter group of CODECO and eventually became one of its most dedicated enemies. Because the militia is supposed to be “guarding” the mine, the presence of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) at the site is minimal.
“We have a first provisional toll of four Chinese killed and two FARDC members wounded,” said provincial deputy Jean-Pierre Biklisende. Other sources said six Chinese were killed. The Chinese government did not immediately confirm the number.
A Red Cross representative said on Friday that the slain victims were all “killed with bullets,” and at least six of the attackers were also fatally shot.
Camp Blanquette was subjected to a much bloodier CODECO attack in May 2022, during which at least 35 people were killed, including a baby. Local officials complained at the time that the gold mine was located too far away from the nearest military outpost, so it took too long for reinforcements to arrive.
About a dozen Chinese nationals have been killed in the DRC over the past four years, most of them during attacks on gold mines or vehicles transporting gold.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry furiously condemned the attack on Thursday.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said:
An all-out search effort is underway for the missing Chinese nationals. We ask the DRC to hunt down the perpetrators and bring them to justice as soon as possible, and take concrete and effective measures to better protect the safety and security of Chinese nationals and companies in the DRC.
“We once again remind our fellow Chinese nationals to closely follow the Foreign Ministry’s security alerts and act accordingly, not to travel to high-risk areas, and to leave those areas as quickly as possible if they are already there,” Mao added.