BUKAVU: Two Pygmies and six militiamen were killed in a DR Congo army offensive to dislodge them from a national park which houses the world’s largest gorilla species, officials said on Saturday.
Friday’s operation in the Kahozi-Biega park, the only place in the world where the Grauer’s gorilla roam in the wild, also saw around 90 huts torched.
Congloese authorities accuse militia groups of illegal mining in the area and using local Pygmies as a cover.
“In a joint operation with the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) and forest guards to evict the Pygmies. two Pygmies were killed and others were wounded,” said Pascal Cimana, the top official of the adjoining Kalehe region.
DR Congo army kills eight in gorilla park attack
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Eight killed in army offensive on DR Congo gorilla park
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