Democratic Republic of Congo: Twelve guards, a driver and four civilians were killed Friday in an ambush inside the Virunga national park.

publié le 27-04-2020

Seventeen people were killed Friday in an ambush by an armed group inside Virunga National Park, a natural and tourist jewel in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo on the border with Rwanda.

In addition to the twelve guards, all men aged 23 to 31, a driver of the park was killed as well as four civilians "unrelated to the park", communicated in the evening the Virunga on their site, pointing to the responsibility of rebels Rwandan Hutus. “Three other guards were seriously injured. The prognosis is vital for two of them, "added the park, adding that they were hospitalized. Two other civilians were injured.

It is one of the heaviest attacks targeting some 700 Virunga rangers, 176 of whom have been killed in 20 years, in this region of Kivu destabilized by the violence of armed groups for a quarter of a century. The attack was carried out near Virunga headquarters in Rumangabo, in the mountains of Rutshuru territory.

 “While returning from a mission to headquarters, the guards were victims of an attack launched by individuals, in large numbers and heavily armed. The firefight lasted 30 minutes and was incredibly violent, ”explains the Virunga park. The rangers are themselves generally armed for their mission. "A civilian vehicle was nearby and had already been targeted by the attackers before the guards arrived," the source said.

"Precise indications obtained in recent hours designate the armed group FDLR-FOCA as the author of this killing," advance the Virunga, saying that "the attack is an ambush whose motives are not established at this stage".

The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) is a group of Rwandan Hutu rebels who have taken refuge in the DRC, some of whose founders in the early 2000s participated in the genocide against the Tutsis in 1994.

FLDR chief Sylvestre Mudacumura was killed in North Kivu on September 18, Congolese authorities announced, congratulated on the occasion by Kigali. For several months, persistent rumors indicate a direct presence of the Rwandan army on Congolese soil to lead the offensive against the FDLR with the Congolese forces.

Covering an area of ​​7,769 km2, the Virunga cover part of the province of North Kivu (almost 60,000 km2), especially along the border with Rwanda and Uganda.

The oldest natural reserve in Africa inaugurated in 1925, the park is a sanctuary for mountain gorillas. The great apes are one of its tourist attractions, with the spectacular ascent of the Nyiaragongo volcano, and a night bivouac in the red glow of its crater in activity at more than 3000 m above sea level.

But the park is also the field of action for dozens of armed groups active in the region. Trusteeship Institute of Virunga, the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN) has identified all the threats to its natural jewel: "illegal production of charcoal", "poaching of large mammals, especially the hippopotamus" , “Illegal fishing” as well as “the presence of armed groups” and “the invasion by illegal diggers of minerals”.

In May 2018, Virunga Park had suspended its tourist activity, following the kidnapping of two British tourists, who were finally released. An eco-guard was killed in this attack. The park had reopened its activity to tourists in February 2019.

In 2014, the park director, Emmanuel de Mérode, was injured in an armed attack. That same year, the park had again gained notoriety in the world with the documentary Virunga produced in 2014 by the American actor Leonardo Di Caprio.

The Virunga company has also embarked on the construction of hydroelectric power stations, for the production and distribution of electricity in Goma and its region. The visits had been suspended since March 19 as part of the preventive measures taken by the authorities in the face of the coronavirus epidemic. "However, the personnel and the technical teams are the only ones authorized to circulate on these areas, while respecting the measures advocated by our leaders", specified the body responsible for the park.