China cautions against travel outside CAR capital

China’s embassy in the Central African Republic has urged its citizens to avoid travelling outside the capital, Bangui, after a report that nine Chinese nationals were killed by rebels at a gold mine outside the city.

The embassy said in a statement on Sunday there had been many “vicious” security incidents against workers of foreign mining enterprises in the area, and Chinese citizens still outside Bangui were requested to evacuate immediately.

Armed men killed nine Chinese nationals in an attack on a mine run by the Gold Coast Group, 25km (15 miles) from the town of Bambari, its mayor said on Sunday, according to the AFP news agency.

“We have counted nine bodies and two wounded,” Abel Matchipata, the mayor, told AFP.  The attack happened about 5am (03:00 GMT), he added.