The most recent bloodshed to shake the reserve classified as a United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Heritage Site has seen the deaths of two guards at Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The two security personnel “were shot and succumbed to their injuries” in Nyamusengera, a region close to the Edward River, which delineates the border with Uganda, according to a statement released by the park on Sunday.
The attack was most likely to be attributed to the Mai-Mai, an armed group, according to the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN).
Five kilometres (three miles) from the location of the incident, in Vitshumbi, a fishing village, a labourer named Kambale Muhindo informed newsmen that “a group of poachers wanted to kill a hippopotamus and to protect themselves they ambushed the guards.”
Human rights advocate Blaise Kalisha reported that “six guards have been injured and transported to the Vitshumbi Catholic hospital.”
Since 2020, numerous armed groups have carried out ambushes and attacks on park guards.
Four park employees, three of whom were guards, were slain on May 18 this year. The same armed group was accused by the government.
The ICCN warned of a resurgence of violence in February, after suspected Mai-Mai fighters killed a ranger in a third attack.
Founded in 1925, Virunga National Park has been recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979.
It is known for its fauna and landscapes as it’s a vast expanse of deep forests, glaciers and volcanos, with more species of birds, reptiles and mammals than any other protected area in the world. But it is also known to serve as a base for a number of armed groups for more than two decades.
The park has been caught in the middle of militia activity that has destabilised surrounding regions since civil wars fought around the turn of the century.
