CAR suspends Chinese mining company for ties to rebels

The government of the Central African Republic accused Chinese mining company Daqing SARL of backing rebels and suspended its operations in the country.

Daqing is a gold and diamond mining company operating in the Mingala area south of the country where the government is battling the Coalition of Patriots for Change.

The CAR government issued a statement accusing Daqing of “intelligence with armed groups, illegal exploitation, illegal introduction of foreign subjects into mining areas, non-payment of taxes, and lack of activity reports.”

Infighting worsened in CAR in 2013 where at least 14 armed groups are vying for power in the landlocked and resource-rich country.

Chinese companies have secured concession agreements to extract critical minerals in the war-torn country.

Last month, four workers were killed in an attack blamed by the government on the Coalition of Patriots for Change, a Christian group that was formed after the failure of a peace deal in 2019.

Last year, nine Chinese workers were killed in a gold mine in an attack which the government said was also perpetrated by the Christian rebels.