Central African government suspends Chinese mining company for alleged links to armed groups

BANGUI, Central African Republic — The government of the Central African Republic has suspended the operations of a Chinese mining company in the country, accusing it of cooperating with armed militias, according to a government decree.

The country's Ministry of Mines has accused Daqing SARL, a Chinese gold and diamond mining company, of “intelligence with armed groups, illegal mining, illegal introduction of foreign subjects into mining areas, non-payment of taxes and absence of activity reports”. decree, which was made public on Saturday.

Daqing SARL operated in Mingala, a town in southern Central African Republic plagued by fighting between the country's armed forces and the Coalition of Patriots for Change, an anti-government armed group.

The Central African Republic has been in conflict since 2013, when predominantly Muslim rebels took power and forced President François Bozizé to resign. Predominantly Christian militias fought back.

A 2019 peace deal only eased the fighting, and six of the 14 armed groups that later signed left the accord. The Coalition of Patriots for Change was founded in 2020 following the agreement.

The country remains one of the poorest in the world despite its vast mineral wealth, notably gold and diamonds. Rebel groups have operated with impunity in the troubled country for the past decade, thwarting mineral exploration by foreign companies.

Many of those currently operating in the country are Chinese-led and have faced security concerns. Last month, four workers were killed at a Chinese gold mine in an attack that the local government blamed on the Coalition of Patriots for Change. Last year, nine Chinese nationals were killed at another gold mine in the Central African Republic. The government blamed the attack on the same rebel alliance. In 2020, two Chinese nationals died when local residents led an uprising against a Chinese-operated mine in the south of the country.