This content has been archived. It may no longer be relevant

Days after three Chinese nationals were kidnapped in the Central African Republic, gunmen have stormed a Chinese-operated gold mine on Sunday, killing nine Chinese nationals, authorities said.

“We have counted nine bodies and two wounded,” the mayor of the nearby town of Bambari, Abel Matchipata, told the press.

He said the victims were Chinese workers at a site run by the Gold Coast Group. Following the attack, the Chinese embassy called on Chinese natonals to not travel outside the captal Bangui, according to a statement on the embassy website.

The assault on the Chimbolo gold mine began around 5 a.m. local time (0400 GMT) when the gunmen overpowered the site’s guards and opened fire, said Matchipata.

The mining site’s launch had taken place just days earlier, he added.

The abductions has prompted CAR President Faustin Archange Touadera to plan a trip to China in a bid to reassure investors.There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Sunday’s attack.

But suspicion fell on the Coalition of Patriots for Change, or CPC, which is active in the area and regularly launches attacks on the country’s armed forces.