OREANDA-NEWS. October 14, 2011. The Talas Copper Gold (TCG) exploration camp near Aral village in the Talas Region of the Kyrgyz Republic, was attacked and burnt by a gang of around 10 horsemen armed with sticks and petrol bombs just after midnight on the night of 7/8 October.

This incident does not appear to follow from any community action but seems to be a premeditated attack by a small group. The attackers set fire to several buildings and severely beat the Security Manager as he fled from a burning building. The Security Manager is now recovering in hospital. A police investigation is underway and TCG expects that those who took part in the attack, as well as possible organizers, to be captured and brought to justice.

TCG believes that it has generally constructive relations with the local community in Aral, from whom it jointly recruits staff for exploration work. TCG operates in partnership with community to decide on social investment projects in the area while the company also applies best environmental practices.

The community and government have already condemned the actions of the perpetrators. Turat Medetov, Chairman of Aral Ayil Kenesh stated that “The incident does not reflect the views of the majority of the residents of Aral. People in Aral believe that this is a criminal act against the real interests of the community”.

Speaking on behalf of the Government, the Akim of Talas Rayon, Ruslan Atakhanov, reported that “On 8 October, the Security Coordination Council of Talas Rayon held a session where we concluded that the criminals involved in this incident must be identified and held accountable according to the law”.

TCG remains committed to exploring the TCG license areas in Talas, as agreed with the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic. Despite the recent events, TCG will start its new drilling program in November 2011 as planned previously.