Gunmen attack, kill 14 at Virunga National Park in Congo

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By Francis Ogwo

About 14 people have been left dead after an attack by suspected gunmen at the Virunga National Park in Congo.

According to reports in the park’s website, the attack took place at the Route Nationale 2, near the headquarters of the Virunga National Park in Rumangabo and had 13 rangers and four visitors dead, leaving four other lucky survivors battling for their lives at a medical facility.

In a release by the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN), the identities of the rangers involved in the attack have been confirmed as follows:

ABEDI IYALU Kadhafi, Ranger, 23

ANUARI BIHIRA Lumumba, Ranger, 27

BADI MUKANDAMA Djamali, Ranger, 27

FAZILI JUSTIN Junior, Ranger, 29

KAMBALE MUTSOMANI Jean-Louis, Ranger, 31

KAMBALE TEREMUKA Jules, Ranger, 28

KASOLE JANVIER Joseph, Ranger, 30

MASUMBUKO MALEKANI Ruphin, Driver, 40

MUGISHO KULONDWA Augustin, Ranger, 27

MUHINDO ISEVIHANGO Jeannot, Ranger, 30

MUHINDO KATEMBO Jacques, Ranger,29

NDAGIJIMANA NDAHOBARI Héritier, Ranger, 27

PALUKU KALONDERO Moise, Ranger, 30
Investigations revealed that the Rwandan rebel group ‘FDLR- FOCA’, were responsible for the attack.

The leaders of the militia group, Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) were fingered as having a link to the 1994 genocide which saw the killing of about 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

Reports say the group has not denied accusations made against it on the Virunga attack.

Government official, Cosma Wilungula had described the attack as the deadliest in recent history adding that about 60 militiamen ambushed a convoy of civilians that was being protected by the rangers.

The killings have been described as unfortunate as the families of the dead and colleagues at the park have been left distraught and devasted.

Virunga National Park (Parc Nationals Des Virunga) was founded in 1925 as Africa’s first national park and designated as a UNESC0 World Heritage Site since 1979.

Located in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the park stretches 7,800km² from the Virunga Mountains in the South, to the Rwenzori Mountains in the North, bordering Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Rwenzori Mountains National Park and Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda.

Very recently, the park had witnessed poaching and the Congo Civil War which have left huge damages to the animals at the park.

The park is managed by the Congolese National Park Authorities, the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN), while partnering with the Virunga Foundation.

The ICCN is a Congolese governmental partner tasked with the protection and conservation of the Virunga National Park which also have endangered mountain gorillas. They also handle the Kahuzi-Biega National Park; both UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Information on the park’s website revealed that there were indications that this was an attack on the local civilian population.

“Virunga Park Rangers were not the target of the assault, but lost their lives responding to the attack in defense of the local population,” the statement added.

Sources from the Park said the safety of the facility over the years has been threatened by kidnappers. For example, in 2018, attackers killed park ranger Rachel Masika Baraka while kidnapping two British tourists and their driver.

The park which attracts lots of visitors in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic had been closed to tourists on 23 March, as experts advised that gorillas might be vulnerable to complications from catching Covid-19.

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