I don't know, why aren't people even aware of the Second Congo War, which with over 5 million dead is the most deadly war since WWII, and it happened in the last 15 years.
The problem is simply that Africa is just not of interest to Western eyes. Had those miners been gunned down in Belarus, it would have made the wider news.
I wouldn't really hold it against Westerners to care about minor disputes in the nations on their continent because historically those minor disputes used to flare up into wars that affect them and their well being.
Regional wars in other continents don't tend to have the same effect.
It's not the weapon thing, its the 'in Africa' thing.
A couple of years ago, there was a clash between muslims and christians in Nigeria that left something like 300 dead. It was simply an article in the 'world news' section. In searching for that article, I found one from two months ago where dozens more were killed, so it's still going on without making the headlines (outside of the 'world news' section)
There is also sporadic violence in regions of India that barely hit the news. Or Philipinne or Indonesian or Brazilian violence which might make some corner of some news outlet. I think it' just one of those 'it's in a far away land with little presence in the world stage' problem.
Still, the ongoing regional violence in Africa deserves more attention from the world, as their regional military police from the African Union seem either apathetic, powerless or corrupt and only go in at their whim, it would appear.
The problem is simply that Africa is just not of interest to Western eyes. Had those miners been gunned down in Belarus, it would have made the wider news.