Conakry: More than 1,200 people in Guinea's key gold-producing region have been arrested amid a crackdown on illegal mining, according to a government statement.
The arrests come after a ban on unregulated and clandestine mining in the northeastern gold-producing region of Siguiri took effect on November 2.
The 1,263 people arrested for alleged gold panning included citizens of Guinea, Burkina Faso, Mali, Togo, Niger, Ivory Coast and Ghana, according to a joint statement from the ministries of defence and security, dated Saturday.
The crackdown on illegal gold mining has led to an unprecedented influx of people from the Guinean border region.
Neighbouring Mali announced on Saturday that it had taken in around 160,000 people expelled from Guinea since the start of these operations, warning of a "humanitarian emergency".
Guinea is rich in mineral resources, particularly gold and bauxite. Authorities are trying to curb environmental challenges resulting from artisanal gold mining, including land degradation and the pollution of waterways.
