The governor of Democratic Republic of Congo's South Kivu province has ordered the suspension all mining activities in the restive region, giving all companies and operators 72 hours to leave mining sites.
Governor Jean-Jacques Purusi Sadiki, said in the statement that the suspension until further notice, was due to "disorder caused by the mining operators."
Many Chinese companies mine gold and other minerals in South Kivu, one of the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo that have been plagued by violence from armed groups for nearly three decades. In recent months, as the military battle the militias, the security situation has worsened.
Attacks on quarries and mining cooperatives are frequent in the region as more than 120 armed groups compete for land and resources in eastern Congo. Earlier this month, a militia attack on a gold mine in the Ituri province in northeastern Congo killed six Chinese miners and two Congolese soldiers.
Earlier this week the government and the M23 rebels agreed on 15-day extension of a humanitarian truce in neighbouring North Kivu province. It is set to last until 11:59 pm (2159 GMT) on August 3.
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