"Wagner Group" may be involved in the murder of Chinese at a gold mine in the Central African Republic

Law enforcement agencies in the Central African Republic have announced the completion of an investigation into the attack on the Chimbolo gold mine and the murder of nine Chinese citizens who worked there, and have blamed armed groups.

According to Mondafrique's sources, they could have been led by the Wagner Group, The Insider writes.

Eyewitnesses interviewed by the publication said that they saw white mercenaries from the Wagner group, accompanied by soldiers from the CAR, heading to the mine between 4 and 5 am, shortly before the attack. This testimony confirms evidence previously collected by the Dailybeast.

Witnesses interviewed by the publication claimed that the "militia" units were led by Colonel Kiri, who was recruited by Wagner Group through the Minister of Livestock Hassan Bub.

Background. On March 20, unidentified militants stormed a Chinese-operated gold mining facility that had recently been launched in the Central African Republic. The militants killed 9 Chinese citizens and wounded two others, local authorities said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping reacted to the incident by calling for severe punishment for the perpetrators. Beijing evacuated 80 Chinese citizens from the country.

The rebel coalition, which some initially blamed for the attack on the Chimbolo gold mine, issued a statement later that day. They accused Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group of involvement in the violence.

The rebels claim that Russian mercenaries planned the attack "to scare the Chinese, who were there long before the Russians settled in this part of the country."

As reported, China has refused to supply weapons to the Wagner group, but Prigozhin's mercenaries are trying to get Turkish weapons through Mali.