Kita: illegal gold miners invade Limakolé classified forest
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Mali Actu
The governor of Kita, Daouda Maïga, has dispatched a technical and security mission to the Limakolé classified forest, in the commune of Gadougou II on the Guinean border. Gold miners from Togo, Burkina Faso and Benin, turned back from Guinea, have settled at Djiabasouroutou, about 30 kilometres away, according to regional authorities.
A technical and security mission led by the prefect of Sagabary, Abdoulaye Cissé, was dispatched on Monday by the governor of the Kita region, Daouda Maïga, to the Limakolé classified forest, on the Guinean border, in response to an invasion of illegal gold miners, according to Mali Actu.
Regional authorities link this pressure to people turned back from Guinea. The border village of Djiabasouroutou, about 30 kilometres from Limakolé, has seen a massive influx of gold miners, notably from Togo, Burkina Faso and Benin, turned back from Guinean territory, who have moved to the Malian forest. Accompanied by the armed and security forces, the delegation reminded them that gold extraction is strictly regulated and that the forest ecosystem must be preserved. It also provided moral support and a symbolic sum of money to those turned back, and the authorities pledged to facilitate their repatriation. They urged local young people to turn to other income-generating activities.
This mission follows the aid provided on 8 November by the governor to gold miners turned back from Guinea, against the backdrop of a border crisis between the two countries, as reported in Maïga provides aid to gold miners turned back from Guinea.
