HONG KONG, July 13./TASS/. Units of the Wagner Private Military Company evacuated a group of Chinese nationals from a mine in the Central African Republic to save them from local militants, the South China Morning Post newspaper reported on Thursday.

According to the paper, the group received intelligence about an attack planned by militants on a Chinese-operated mining site near Bambari (Ouaka prefecture), "and the Chinese embassy soon contacted it for help."

On the following day, Wagner fighters arrived at the site and found the miners seeking refuge in a nearby jungle, the newspaper said. They were then evacuated to the capital city of Bangui.

According to the South China Morning Post, 12 people were rescued during the operation. The Chinese Embassy to the Central African Republic has not responded to the paper’s request to confirm this information. "Three Chinese military sources told the Post that it was ‘very common for Chinese government and state-owned enterprises to seek help from local private security forces to protect Chinese nationals and overseas assets’," the paper said.

"For China, this is just an occasional case. The Wagner Group is not its only choice [for security help] in central Africa," it quoted Tian Buchou, a veteran of China’s special forces who has been managing security for Chinese companies in the Middle East and Africa for about 20 years.