Five unidentified gunmen kidnapped a Romanian security officer on Saturday from a manganese mining project in northern Burkina Faso, near the border with Mali.

The incident took place at the Tambao project, which is run by Pan African Minerals, a subsidiary of Frank Timis's Timis Corporation, according to Reuters.

Frank Timis is one of the richest Romanians. He has investments in West African oil and mining operations.

"There was an attack on one of our patrols. They kidnapped the Romanian leading the patrol. The driver was wounded in the foot. A gendarme was seriously injured," said Souleymane Mihin, Burkina Faso managing director for Pan African Minerals.

Romania’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the kidnapping of a Romanian in Burkina Faso and said a crisis cell had been set up to handle the case.

The five gunmen involved in the attack headed towards the nearby border with northern Mali after kidnapping the Romanian, according to Burkinabe security sources. The Burkinabe authorities said they planned on going into Mali and Niger to look for the Romanian’s kidnappers.

editor@romania-insider.com