Central African Republic Government Suspends Chinese Mining Company for Alleged Ties to Armed Groups

BANGUI, Central African Republic—The government of the Central African Republic suspended a Chinese mining company’s operations in the country, accusing it of cooperating with armed militias, a government decree said. The country’s ministry of mines accused Daqing SARL, a Chinese gold and diamond mining company, of “intelligence with armed groups, illegal exploitation, illegal introduction of foreign subjects into mining areas, non-payment of taxes and lack of activity reports,” in the decree, which was made public Saturday. Daqing SARL operated in Mingala, a town in the south of the Central African Republic that has been plagued by fighting between the country’s armed forces and the Coalition of Patriots for Change, an anti-government armed group....