China's Xi condemns killing of Chinese nationals at gold mine

Xi Jinping, the leader of China, condemned the killing of nine Chinese nationals at a gold mine in the Central African Republic, where tensions between Chinese and Russian interests flared shortly before landing in Moscow on Monday.

According to a statement released by the Chinese foreign ministry, Xi called on the authorities of the Central African Republic to bring the perpetrators to justice, among competing claims about who was responsible, including one that blamed the Kremlin-backed Wagner mercenary group. The ministry said two other Chinese nationals had been severely injured and called for the government to leave other areas of the country for the capital, Bangui, the only place where it does not consider high-risk.

An investigation was opened into the killing, the state prosecutor told Agence-France Presse on Monday.

At least one local official blamed a rebel group for the killings, which occurred early on Sunday when masked assailants attacked a mining site run by a Chinese firm. C. an alliance of rebel groups trying to oust the pro-Kremlin president Faustin-Archange Touad ra denied any involvement and blamed Wagner, the fighting force founded by an oligarch close to Russian President Vladimir V. Putin, who is also fighting in Ukraine.