At least 10 killed in Guinea in crackdown on gold mining

At least 10 people have been killed and 13 others injured in clashes in northeastern Guinea between protesters and security forces enforcing restrictions on gold mining, the government said.

The country’s Ministry of Territorial ‌Administration said late on Thursday that clashes occurred on Wednesday, when defence and security forces were verifying the implementation of a ban on artisanal gold mining.

The violence erupted in Balato, in the Siguiri region, during a patrol against illegal and unregulated gold mining. Protesters erected barricades blocking the patrol, as the situation escalated into clashes and exchanges of gunfire, the statement said. It did not specify who opened fire.

Ten people, including five foreign nationals whose identities have yet to be established, were among those killed. The injured included civilians and members of the security forces.

Two pick-up trucks and a security forces truck were burned, while a firearm and a motorcycle were taken by protesters, the ministry said.

Judicial authorities have been tasked with establishing what triggered the violence and determining responsibility.

Guinea banned artisanal gold mining in Siguiri on November 2. Authorities said artisanal miners’ failure to comply with regulations had led to environmental degradation, including pollution of agricultural land, rivers and vegetation ⁠cover.

Neighbouring Mali said last week that around 100,000 people had arrived in the capital Bamako and nearly 60,000 more in the border town of Kouremale after they ⁠were forced to leave Guinea when the ban on artisanal mining was announced.

Burkina Faso said on Friday it had repatriated 45,406 of ⁠its citizens, who were forced to leave Guinea as a result of the ban.

Artisanal mining, driven by growing demand ⁠for metals and rising prices, is a common activity across much of West Africa.

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining supports the livelihoods of more than 300,000 people in Guinea, according to the UN Environment Programme.

But the Guinean government said the restrictions aim to curb environmental damage from mining, including the destruction of farmland by heavy machinery and the pollution of rivers by chemicals.

Authorities arrested more than 1,200 people suspected of illegal gold mining in the Siguiri region earlier this month, according to authorities, with the first mass trials opened this week.