Officials say gunmen killed at least six rangers in Virunga National Park, the latest attack on the area where some of the world’s last mountain gorillas are located.
KINSHASA, CONGO – Gunmen have killed at least six rangers in Virunga National Park, the latest attack in the eastern part of the Congo home to the world’s last mountain gorillas, officials said on Sunday.
The violence took place on Sunday in Nyamitwitwi, located in the Rutshuru area of the park, said Olivier Mukisya, spokesperson for the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation.
“We confirm that a group of armed men attacked our positions,” Mukisya told The Associated Press. “We are dead and wounded among our rangers.”
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, although previous attacks on Virunga park rangers have been blamed on several armed groups fighting for control of eastern Congo’s natural resources. Among the rebel groups are the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, known under the French acronym FDLR, an ethnic Hutu group opposed to the government of neighboring Rwanda and one of the last factions of Rwandan rebels active in the Congo. .
In April 2020, 12 rangers and five civilians were killed in an ambush near Virunga National Park, injuring several others.
According to officials, more than 200 rangers have died since Virunga became a national park in 1925.