Canadian mining company Banro, located in the Maniema province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has decided to evacuate most of its workers.
A company statement said that a caravan of 23 trucks belonging to subcontractors working on their behalf was taken under fire during a firefight between the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC) and Militiamen in Lulimba, South Kivu. The rebel group that controls the area has confiscated the trucks but the drivers are safe, Banro said.
According to an official of a security company working for the mining company, the cause of this evacuation is the worrying security situation in the east of the country.
Meanwhile, the army spokesman in the region, Captain Dieudonné Kasereka said that the localities of Luimba, Misisi, Lubondja and Iseke have been under the control of the fighters of the Mai-Mai Yakutumba self-defense group since Friday latest.
Expatriate families are leaving the city of Kindu following the announcement by the Mai Mai to continue their advance to Kindu, capital of Maniema. The women and the sick have already left the place for Bukavu via two flights from Swala Aviation. The rest of the staff was evacuated by road.