It is with extreme sadness that we received today’s announcement that three park rangers and five Congolese soldiers were killed during an attack on their patrol vehicle in Congo’s Virunga National Park. (Read the blog post by Emmanuel de Merode, Chief Park Warden and member of the Board of Adviser of The Charcoal Project.)
Illegal charcoal production in the park is the single greatest threat to the survival of the mountain gorilla. Virunga National Park, which has implemented a successful briquette program in communities surrounding the park, has been a partner and supporter of The Charcoal Project since day one.
The members of the Board of Advisers, staff, and friends of The Charcoal Project wish to extend to their heartfelt condolences to the families of those killed in this recent attack.
— The Charcoal Project
VIRUNGA NATIONAL PARK
INSTITUT CONGOLAIS POUR LA CONSERVATION DE LA NATURE
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
24th January 2011
For more information go to www.gorilla.cd/blog
Attack on Ranger Patrol in Congo’s Virunga National Park leaves 8 dead and 3 critically injured
Three rangers and five Congolese soldiers have been killed during a violent attack on their patrol vehicle in Congo’s Virunga National Park. A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) hit the early morning patrol when it fell into an ambush approximately one kilometer north of Mabenga, just inside the park border. The rangers were being deployed along a road that passes through the national park in an attempt to secure a safe passage for the public. The attackers, who escaped on foot, are believed to be FDLR Rwandan militia, an illegal movement believed to include the perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide in 1994. The attack is thought to have been carried out in retaliation for the destruction of two of their camps by park rangers in December 2010.
The attack took place about 100 km north of the city of Goma. This is the worst attack on Virunga Park patrols in over a year. Park rangers and regular army units have been working together to secure the area within the national park known to be heavily frequented by FDLR militia.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleagues who were killed in their efforts to protect the public from illegal armed groups” said Virunga Park Director Emmanuel de Merode. “130 of Virunga’s rangers have died since the beginning of the war in 1996, but the park’s staff remains determined to protect the park”
The rangers will be burried tomorrow morning at the park cemetary on the banks of the Rutshuru River. The injured are in a critical state and have been moved to Rutshuru hospital.
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I have tears streaming down my face as I read this.
The rangers are devoted to their gorilla families and risk their lives daily to protect them and their forest from the marauding poachers and the charcoal industry.
The soldiers protecting them also love their forests and wildlife as they learn and work along side the rangers.
The families of these men will need help as they will be left destitute without husbands and fathers.
They have so few vehicles. One was sent out by Linda Nunn of Gearing Up 4 Gorillas last year , provided and done up by a Somerset farmer. It sounds as though the vehicle they were in will have been destroyed along with their precious binoculars and walkie talkies also provided by G4G
Please help G4G.co.uk replace these items