China calls on citizens to leave eastern Congo after attacks

BEIJING (AP) — China is urging its citizens to leave three provinces in eastern Congo as violence intensifies in the mineral-rich region. A posting Wednesday from the Chinese Embassy in Kinshasa on the WeChat online messaging says a number of Chinese citizens had been attacked and kidnapped over the past month in the provinces of South Kivu, North Kivu and Ituri. Several armed groups operate in the border region. It says Chinese residing in the three provinces should provide their personal details by Dec. 10 and make plans to leave for safer parts of Congo. Armed groups including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, known by its French acronym FDLR, the Mai-Mai and the M23 regularly vie for control of eastern Congo’s natural resources.