Congo detains alleged ivory trafficker blamed for killings of park rangers -statement defenceweb.co.za - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from defenceweb.co.za Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Park rangers in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have arrested a militia leader and alleged ivory trafficker whose fighters are accused of killing 19 rangers, authorities said on Thursday. Jackson Muhukambuto, a former army officer who has led various militias in and around Virunga National Park, was detained in the city of Butembo on Tuesday, the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN) said in a statement. Virunga, Africa's oldest national park, is home to over half the world's mountain gorillas and hundreds of elephants.
6 rangers killed in devastating attack on Congo gorilla sanctuary By Debora Patta 6 rangers killed in mountain gorilla sanctuary
It was a routine patrol around 7:30 a.m. on Sunday when six rangers working at Virunga National Park in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo were ambushed by a local militia group. The attack is the latest in the part of eastern Congo home to some of the world s last mountain gorillas. It s devastating, Parks Director Emmanuel De Merode told CBS News as he was leaving the funeral for one of his six rangers. The families of these men have lost breadwinners and have no safety net.
Six rangers killed in deadly militia attack in DRC’s Virunga National Park
by Ashoka Mukpo on 11 January 2021
The incident is the latest in a series of deadly attacks against rangers working inside the park.
The Congolese agency that supervises ranger operations said the attack was likely carried out by members of a local militia.
Land pressures and instability in eastern DRC have increasingly brought rangers from Virunga into conflict with armed groups in the region.
Six rangers working at Virunga National Park in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo were killed in an ambush by a local militia group on Sunday, according to the park’s management and the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation, or ICCN by its French acronym. The attack is the deadliest since April of last year, when 12 rangers and five civilians were killed in the worst episode of violence in the park’s history.