Deadly mining protests in Liberia kill 1 and injure many, official says

By MARK M. MENGONFIA
Associated Press

MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) — A government minister in Liberia says that violent protests over the presence of an armed force in mining areas in the country’s northwest resulted in the death of one demonstrator and multiple injuries. Protesters and police officers in the mining town of Kinjor were both armed when the clashes erupted on Thursday. The minister of information and culture, Jeronlinmek Piah, told reporters that the death is being investigated and that 18 protesters were arrested. The protests erupted after the mining district’s lawmaker on Tuesday demanded an immediate withdrawal of armed guards in the community and at the gold mine operated by Bea Mountain Mining Company.