Congo frees most of Chinese men held for illegal mining

(Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo has freed 14 of the 17 Chinese men arrested on suspicion of running an illegal gold mine in the country, authorities said late on Tuesday.

The men, who are travelling back to China, were detained last week along with others from Congo and neighbouring Burundi after failing to produce the required documents during a crackdown on unlicensed extraction of the minerals in the central African nation.

Jean-Jacques Purusi Sadiki, the governor of South Kivu, the province where the men were arrested, told reporters he was shocked to hear news of their release.

The Chinese miners owed $10 million in unpaid taxes and fines to the government, he added.

Around 60 Chinese nationals were at the site and officials detained the 17 who appeared to be in charge.

The Chinese embassy in Kinshasa has not responded to requests for comment. Burundi's embassy said it was still waiting for details from its representative in Bukavu.

Bernard Muhindo, South Kivu's finance minister and acting mines minister, said the intention was to improve the system.

"The idea is not to go on a manhunt, but rather to clean up the mining sector so that reliable partners can work properly and legally," he told reporters.

The central African country says it has been struggling to stop unlicensed companies and in some cases armed groups from exploiting its rich reserves of cobalt, cooper, gold and other minerals.

Competition over mining operations has fuelled fighting in the region that borders Rwanda.

(Reporting by Yassin Kombi, Writing by Jessica Donati, editing by Ed Osmond)

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