Wagner mercenaries rescued Chinese gold miners in Central African Republic in July, paramilitary group says

Evacuation news shared by Russian-based outfit signals effort to rebuild image after failed armed mutiny en route to Moscow, analysts say

Wagner claims it received intelligence on July 1 about attack planned by local militants and that Chinese embassy reached out for help

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Wagner fighters posing with evacuated Chinese miners who were at a mine near Bambari in the Central African Republic. Photo: Wagner Group

Published: 11:00am, 13 Jul 2023Updated: 5:53am, 14 Jul 2023

Wagner mercenaries rescued and evacuated a group of Chinese miners in central Africa about two weeks ago, signalling the paramilitary group is seeking to rebuild its image after stunning the world with an armed mutiny in Russia last month, analysts said.

The group posted photos and a statement on the social media platform Telegram last week indicating the operation involved a Chinese-operated mining site near Bambari in the Central African Republic earlier this month.

In March, nine Chinese nationals were killed and two wounded by unidentified gunmen at a gold mine north of Bambari.

The group received intelligence on July 1 about an attack planned by local militants, it said in the statement, and the Chinese embassy soon contacted it for help.

The rescued Chinese miners sought refuge in a nearby jungle where Wagner fighters found and evacuated them, according to the Russian-based paramilitary group. Photo: Wagner Group

The next day Wagner sent its soldiers to look for the miners and found them seeking refuge in a nearby jungle. It evacuated the miners to the capital city Bangui two days later, according to the statement.

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