Chinese miners seek refuge in forest as Ghana army continues hunt

Chinese gold miners hiding in forests to escape a Ghanaian military manhunt asked for help with their retreat on Thursday, after a harsh crackdown on illegal miners that has seen 124 Chinese detained so far.

Yu Jie, a spokesperson from the Chinese embassy in the West African nation, told the Global Times that teams have been sent to those cities where Chinese miners are concentrated to negotiate with local authorities and help the refugees retreat.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Thursday that the embassy had immediately lodged representations to high-ranking officials in Ghana's presidential palace, calling for strong discipline from Ghanaian security agencies in enforcing laws, and urging the authorities to stop Chinese citizens being robbed and ensure their security and legal rights.

The Ghanaian government said Wednesday that they would suspend the arrest of miners beyond mining sites, following requests from the embassy.

No injuries have been reported among the 124, Hong said.

One of the miners, surnamed Wu, in Kumasi, a city with large gold deposits, told the Global Times that he dares not come out and the guards are setting up checkpoints on roads.

Su Zhenyu, secretary-general of the Ghana and China Mining Association, told the Global Times that staying in the forest is very dangerous, as the miners may be at risk of contracting malaria.

Su admitted that many miners entered the country by illegal means or without legitimate visas, but the government had turned a blind eye, adding that negotiations on the detention between Chinese government representatives and their Ghanaian counterparts in March failed. "We need time to take out our equipment and related talks are continuing," Su said. "The guards initiated the ambush."

Hong Lei reiterated that all Chinese people in Ghana should strictly abide by local laws and regulations and not engage in any illegal activities.

Wu said he pays taxes to the local government, which suddenly explicitly forbade exploitation, and most of the miners could not leave immediately due to the large equipment.

"As long as they give us more time, and help us retreat with our equipment, we'd love to leave," Wu said. "We can go to other countries that welcome us."

Su also said miners now hope the embassy issues information on safe paths of retreat and time limits, calling on the Ghanaian government to stop the crackdown and let miners come out of the forest safely.