Five Chinese nationals working at a gold mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo's conflict-plagued east who were kidnapped in late November have been released, local officials said Thursday.

The five were freed on Monday, Aime Kawaya Mutipula, administrator of Fizi territory in South Kivu province, told AFP, adding: "They've been released, that's the main thing."

Gunmen killed a police officer and kidnapped the five Chinese men in the village of Mukera, in Fizi territory, on the night of November 20 to 21.

The abductees were employees of the Beyond Mining company, which operates a gold mine in partnership with a local cooperative.

"They are in good health," said Kakozi Kyakubuta, the head of a civil society organisation made up of local citizens in Baraka, a town around 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the site of the kidnapping.

"We did what we could at our level, we had conducted negotiations with the kidnappers since their abduction," Kyakubuta added, without giving further details about any conditions of the release.

He said they had been kidnapped "for not having respected commitments made with residents who had ceded their land with a view to the mining of gold".

The issues, he said, included upgrading a road and compensation for at least 80 families.

A number of Chinese companies are mining for gold in South Kivu province, one of the eastern regions of vast and resource-rich DR Congo gripped by violence by armed groups for more than 25 years.

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