June 12, 2023 – An armed attack took place on Saturday evening in the territory of Mambasa where an element of the Congolese national police lost his life. The assailants also injured another policeman and managed to take away three weapons of war. This deadly attack targets a Maipondjo mining company operated by Chinese subjects, located on the banks of the Maipondjo River, in the Bavabete group, in the Bandaka chiefdom.
According to the civil society leader of Bafwambaya, the Mai-Mai militiamen kidnapped 30 farmers from the area whom they used to transport their loot. Only three people among these hostages managed to save themselves. 27 others are still under enemy control. This part of Mambasa territory is under the control of thugs who sow terror and desolation.
Confirming this new attack targeting law enforcement elements guarding a mining site operated by Chinese subjects, the second in command of the PNC Bafwabango, commissioner Shishombo Amisi Guy, announced that a reinforcement of elements of the police were dispatched to the area to recover the lifeless body of this law enforcement officer.
This event comes on top of another similar one at another mining site located about forty kilometers from Nia-Nia, where two police officers were killed, three others injured and six weapons taken away by unidentified gunmen.
These repetitive attacks testify to growing insecurity in this region of the country, and the civilian population is likely to suffer the deadly consequences of armed clashes. The authorities must act quickly to guarantee the safety of the civilian populations and intensify the hunt for the Mai-Mai militias who terrorize the populations in the mining areas