Nearly two hundred people demonstrated this week in support of Russia and China in the Central African Republic after nine Chinese workers were killed by gunmen in an attack.
The CAR is one of Africa’s poorest countries and has been battling rebel groups for a decade.
Without evidence, the CAR government blamed rebels for the killings. But the rebels are pointing the finger at Russia’s Wagner group, which has been deployed in the capital Bangui since 2018 to protect the CAR government.
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Abdoulaye Diarra, an Amnesty International researcher based in Dakar, Senegal, told VOA it’s difficult to say who’s responsible for the killings because of conditions in the area where they took place.
“The Chimboro area is near 25 kilometers from Bambari and this area is at the heart of rivalries for access to resources, in particular gold,” he said. In the past, the area was occupied by armed groups belonging to CPC and they use to take illegal taxes from gold miners to help them finance their activities, but since December 2020, they were driven out and the authorities have relative control actually of the gold mine …. Security is not fully restored and you still have some insecurity that remains in this area.”
Diarra’s team has spoken to residents.
“Local sources told us that the attacks started at 5 am and [lasted] for at least one hour. They don’t know who exactly the perpetrators are.”
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