An armed group attacked an artisanal gold mining site in southern Mali, a local elected official announced, the first such attack since a military government seized power in 2020.
“Early on Monday morning, terrorists carried out two attacks in the Narena commune. First, they attacked a shop belonging to Chinese nationals. They kidnapped two Chinese nationals and burned their heavy machinery used in gold mining,” Mamadou Kanté, deputy mayor of Narena, told The Associated Press.
He said the fighters then attacked an artisanal gold-panning site nearby. Three people died: one Malian and two others from Ghana.
The attack has not been claimed, but it bears the hallmark of the JNIM group, which is linked to al-Qaida and is present in the commune of Narena, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of the capital, Bamako.
Mali is one of Africa’s largest gold producers. In recent years, there have been concerns that profits from unregulated mining could benefit extremists active in the country.
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