Seventeen people, described as twelve park rangers and five civilians, have been killed in an attack near the Virunga National Park's headquarters at Bukima in North Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Friday 24 April 2020. The rangers were reportedly investigating an attack on a civilian vehicle, when they themselves came under attack from a group of about 60 armed militiamen. In addition to the deaths another two civilians and three rangers were injured, one of whom is described as being in a critical condition. The attackers are believed to have belonged to the Forces Combattantes Abacunguzi, and armed group affiliated with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, a group which has controlled the southwestern part of the park since fleeing Rwanda after losing the civil war of 1994. The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda control a lucrative charcoal industry in the parts of the park they control, and are rumoured to be protected by powerful contacts within the national army, but the park's authorities have recently begun to try to re-assert their authority in the area. The park has been closed to tourists since May 2018, due to attacks by armed groups.
A vehicle used by Virungu National Park Rangers that came under attack by militiamen on Friday 24 April 2020. Noel Kambanda/Twitter.
The
civil war in Rwanda in 1994 led to hundreds of thousands of refugees
to flee into eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, destabilising the
area and helping to trigger the Congolese civil war of 1996-2003
which killed an estimated five million people, and destroyed much of
what little infrastructure existed in the east of the country. This
situation was further exasperated by refugees and militia groups
fleeing conflicts in South Sudan and Uganda, and by military
incursions by several neighbouring countries seeking access to the
area's rich reserves of gold and coltan minerals.
This has led to a situation where much of the east of the Democratic
Republic of Congo was in the hands of a variety of militia groups,
many of which also control mining encampments, and are at least in
part dependent on bushmeat (hunted game) for sustenance. Against this background the Congolese
parks authorities have struggled to re-assert their authority in the
region, with more than 150 rangers from the Institut Congolais pourla Conservation de la Nature having been killed in action over the
past 20 years.
A civilian vehicle targeted by members of the Forces Combattantes Abacunguzi in order to lure Rangers from the Virungu National Park into an ambush on Friday 24 April 2020. Noel Kambanda/Twitter.
The Virunga National Park formerly derived about 20% of its income from tourism,
with the rest coming from international donors, but these tourists have
become a focus for militia activity, as they are seen as wealthy
foreigners from which money can be obtained.
The Rangers killed in Friday's attack have been named as Kadhafi Abedi, 23, Lumumba Anuari, 27, Djamali Badi, 27, Junior Fazili, 29, Jean-Louis Kambale, 28, Joseph Kasole, 30, Augustin Mugisho, 27, Jeannot Muhindo, 30, Jacques Muhindo, 29, Hértier Ndagijimana, 27, and Moise Paluku, 30. Only one of the civilians killed had been identified so far, Ruphin Masumbuko, believed to have been the driver of the vehicle.
Lumumba Anuari, 27, one of twelve park rangers killed in an attack by militiamen on workers at the Virungu National Park on Friday 24 April 2020. Honorable D'jessy M'boma/Facebook.
The Fallen Rangers Fund collects funds internationally to help support the families of Rangers killed in the line of duty within the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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