Not less than six park rangers have been killed in militia attacks in the North Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Media reports say, the park rangers were killed at the Virunga National Park, famous for its mountain gorillas.
A UNESCO national heritage site, the park was brought under security upheavals after a rise in militia unrest in the region.“Mai-Mai (militia) carried out an ambush at Nyamitwitwi. The provisional toll is six alongside two Mai-Mai,” local government delegate Alphonse Kambale said.
The park’s Spokesperson confirmed that a group of armed men attacked their positions in the region of Nyamitwitwi, a central sector of the park in the territory of Rutshuru”, in North Kivu.
Mukisya said six rangers were killed and another was seriously wounded in the attack around 9:30 am.
Virunga park, established in 1925, covers 7,800 square kilometres (3,000 square miles) and is known to hold about a quarter of the world’s population of critically endangered mountain gorillas.
In the last ten years, more than 200 park rangers have been killed in the region.