Gunmen in Central African Republic killed 10 people near a diamond mining town

BANGUI, Central African Republic — Gunmen in Central African Republic killed six motorcycle taxi drivers and four of their clients near the central diamond mining town of Bria, authorities said Tuesday.

The motorcycle taxi drivers and their clients were driving back from a religious ceremony in the town of Ippy to Bria, the capital of the central Haute-Kotto prefecture, when they were ambushed by unidentified gunmen, the member of parliament for Bria, Jacques Tafogo, told The Associated Press.

''They were tied up and killed with their clients and their motorcycles set on fire,'' Tafogo told the AP over the phone. ''The town is in psychosis and the army is mobilized with the support of Wagner's Russian mercenaries.''

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but the mining town of Bria has been plagued by fighting between the country's armed forces and the Coalition of Patriots for Change, an anti-government militant group, in recent years.

Exports of diamonds from the town are forbidden under the 2003 Kimberley Process, which aims to eliminate the trade of ''blood diamonds'' fueling conflicts in Africa.

Central African Republic has been in conflict since 2013, when predominantly Muslim rebels seized power and forced then-president François Bozizé from office.

A 2019 peace deal only lessened the fighting, and six of the 14 armed groups that signed later left the agreement. The Coalition of Patriots for Change was founded in 2020 in the aftermath of the agreement.

Central African Republic is also one of the first countries in which Kremlin-backed Wagner mercenaries established their operations on the pledge of fighting back rebel groups and bringing back peace.

But instead of stabilizing the country, Wagner forces have been accused of gross human rights violations and defending the brutal military regime of Faustin-Archange Touadéra, in power since March 2016.

''The army is working on a military operation in the area where the tragedy took place with the support of our Russian allies,'' the military police commander of Haute Kotto, Robestin Yamandé, told the AP following the attack in Bria.