Guinea has charged 60 individuals with arson, theft, and murder following a deadly riot at the privately-owned Weily Mining firm in the northeastern gold-producing Siguiri region.
The unrest broke out on October 4 after locals demanded the release of 17 people detained over an earlier vandalism incident at the same site.
Protesters stormed the mine, torching 10 buses, two pickup trucks, including one belonging to the gendarmerie, and two buildings, resulting in two deaths and several injuries.
The charges include voluntary arson, destruction of property, and complicity in murder.
Weily Mining, which exported its first gold from the Niagassola mine in September 2024, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The violence highlights growing tensions in Siguiri, home to multiple open-pit gold mines operated by AngloGold Ashanti and plagued by illegal artisanal mining.
Guinea’s military junta, in power since 2021, has sought to boost economic growth by renegotiating mining contracts and increasing state earnings from the country’s vast natural resource wealth.
