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Tribal warlords step up attacks on Chinese projects

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US and India accused of backing militants in province

Denied the wealth drawn from their own natural resources, the tribal warlords of Pakistan's southwest province of Baluchistan have for several years been attacking infrastructure in the region - and China's interests in the region are being put at risk.

The Baloch people want greater control over the mineral wealth, putting them in direct confrontation with the national government - and increasingly they have been taking aim at China.

Chinese investment in ports, a submarine base and hydroelectric projects have raised the ire of the Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA).

And the insurgency in the province bordering Afghanistan and Iran is also stirring international political rivalries

Last week, 32 people travelling to a wedding on a tractor and trailer were killed by a roadside landmine. Although the government and BLA blame each other for laying the mine, its Chinese manufacture added to local mistrust of Beijing's growing influence in the province as the Pakistan army is known to use Chinese mines.

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