At least 10 killed in Guinea in clashes over gold mining crackdown, authorities say

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

The violence erupted Wednesday in Balato, in the Siguiri region, during a patrol against illegal and unregulated gold mining, according to a government statement dated Thursday.

Protesters erected barricades blocking the patrol before the situation escalated into clashes and exchanges of gunfire, the statement said. It did not specify who opened fire.

Five foreign nationals whose identities have yet to be established were among those killed, according to the provisional toll. The injured included civilians and members of the security forces.

Two pickup trucks and a security forces truck were burned, while a firearm and a motorcycle were taken by protesters, the government said.

Judicial authorities have been tasked with establishing the circumstances of the violence and determining responsibility.

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining supports the livelihoods of more than 300,000 people in Guinea, according to the U.N. Environment Program. Guinea announced a crackdown on unauthorized gold mining earlier this month, deploying security forces and tightening checks in Siguiri.

The government says 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 a government statement. The first mass trials opened this week.

Guinea’s gold mines have long attracted workers from across West Africa. The crackdown has sent thousands of miners and their families fleeing into neighboring Mali , many of them from Burkina Faso, according to Malian authorities.