Assailants have taken the lives of a minimum of 20 individuals at a coal excavation site in Balochistan province, situated in southwestern Pakistan, as confirmed by local law enforcement.
The intruders invaded the workers’ barracks at the Junaid Coal Company mines in the Duki district during the early hours of Friday, gathering the men together before unleashing gunfire.
A medical facility in Duki has received 20 corpses and is providing care for six wounded individuals, as reported by Reuters.
According to police, the workforce was assaulted with heavy artillery, including rocket launchers and grenades, whereas one survivor recounted witnessing a drone hovering above.
On Monday, a militant from the BLA assassinated two Chinese citizens and injured at least 10 others in a suicide bombing near Karachi airport.
The organization advocates for an autonomous Balochistan and has carried out various assaults in August that resulted in over 50 fatalities. Pakistani officials retaliated by eliminating 21 insurgents in the vicinity.
The recent assault on the miners has elicited condemnation from Balochistan’s chief minister, Sarfraz Bugti, who stated that the assailants possess an agenda aimed at undermining Pakistan’s stability.
Balochistan is inhabited by several separatist factions that accuse the national government of exploiting the resource-abundant region.
The militants frequently target security personnel, as well as those employed in the province’s numerous mining and infrastructure initiatives.
In addition to reinforcing security protocols, it is reported that Pakistani authorities will restrict the movement of Chinese nationals during the summit, owing to the threat posed by militant factions targeting them.
