The premises of the Chinese company Qingdao Dongrun, which are located in Lome, have been attacked and looted by an unknown armed group.

According to the Chinese employees, three gunmen forced their way into the premises of the company at around 18:30 local time on Sunday.

They attacked the workers, leaving three Chinese employees injured in the process, before taking off with 8 million CFA francs (US$1,300) and more than 4,000 Chinese yuans (US$522.9), as well as a digital camera, two laptop computers and six mobile phones, all valued at around US$3,500.

The armed thugs who spoke English locked the four Chinese employees of the company in a small toilet and fled with the keys of two cars owned by the employees.

According to the government website Republicoftogo.com, violent robberies are frequent in Togo and the country's capital of Lome is a preferred choice for numerous local gangs and gangs from other countries such as Nigeria.

(Xinhua News Agency June 5, 2007)