THE MINING MURDER: AN INSIDER PERSPECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASMARA 000354 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/E AND EEB DS/IP/AF, DS/TIA/ITA, DS/IP/SPC/SO LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/13/2019 TAGS: EMIN PTER ASEC PGOV ER SUBJECT: THE MINING MURDER: AN INSIDER PERSPECTIVE REF: ASMARA 350 Classified By: CDA Melinda Tabler-Stone for reason 1.4(d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Poloff recently met with a long-time ex-patriate from the mining community who offered his personal take on the October 4 murder of three Eritrean mining workers (reftel). He did not believe the culprits were an organized militia and emphasized that Eritreans living near mining sites may not be as happy with the mining companies' presence as is the Eritrean government (GSE). End Summary. ¶2. (C) David Daoud (protect) has worked for mining companies in Eritrea for seven years. He first worked with Nevsun's Bisha discovery in 2003 and is now the Exploration Manager for Sunridge. Mr. Daoud was one of the few people present on April 12, 2003 when colleague Tim Nutt, a British geologist, was found with his hands and feet tied and throat slit. Both the mining community and Eritrean officials at the time blamed the murder on the Eritrean Islamic Jihadists (EIJ),a Sudanese-backed Islamist movement operating in northern Eritrea. The group was also believed to be responsible for the murder of two Mercy Corps employees in August of the same year. While Daoud still attributes the 2003 murder to the EIJ, he is not convinced that Muslim radicals had anything to do with the recent murders. ¶3. (C) Daoud believes the three mining workers were shot dead by Eritrean residents near the mining area, who either were looking to steal gold from the workers or were simply frustrated by the intrusive mining activities in the area. Since the 2003 incident, Daoud continued, the GSE granted Nevsun a 2,000 person security team permanently assigned to the Bisha area. The three workers killed were employees of Chalice Gold Mines, which merged with the long-established Sub-Sahara in early October. According to Daoud, Chalice/Sub-Sahara, did not request a security force from the government, and was thus vulnerable to attack. ¶4. (SBU) Not all Eritreans are ecstatic about mining operations. During the 6th Annual Horn of Africa Geo-Congress, just days before the three murders, representatives from Sunridge described attempts to make friends of residents in Asmara's rural districts. The presentation was the only one during the meeting to be met by a confrontational question from an Eritrean: "I don't see how Eritreans will benefit from these mines. Where are the benefits?" ¶5. (C) COMMENT: If Daoud's view is correct, the recent murders demonstrate two things: A) The mining community has a long way to go to win friends, especially as they continue to publicize their mineral discoveries while Eritrea's population increasingly suffers from hunger and an oppressive government. B) Despite GSE assurances otherwise, the mining community is still vulnerable to attacks, whether from an organized threat such as EIJ or from disgruntled residents who are desperate to escape poverty. TABLER-STONE