Democratic Republic of Congo: Mai Mai rebels kill 2 park rangers and 1 soldier in Virunga National Park
Two park rangers and a soldier were killed in a firefight with armed militia in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where rebels have transformed Africa’s oldest national park into a war zone, officials said on Friday.
Congo’s rugged eastern borderlands are among the world’s most bio-diverse areas and are home to one of the last remaining populations of mountain gorillas. But they have also been at the center of nearly two decades of armed conflict, which have left millions dead.
Rangers from Congo’s national parks authority (ICCN) were on patrol with an army escort on Thursday when they were ambushed by local Mayi Mayi militia, Emmanuel de Merode, director of Virunga National Park, said.