Several park rangers and employees of the Virunga National Park in the Congo were brutally murdered in a deadly attack by suspected armed men. The attack which took place at 11am on Route Nationale 2, near the headquarters of the Virunga National Park in Rumangabo, left 13 staff and four civilians not related to the park dead.
In addition, three other rangers are seriously injured while one is in a critical condition. They are presently receiving appropriate care after they were evacuated to medical facilities for treatment.
The identities of the victims of the attack were confirmed by the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN), and they include:
ABEDI IYALU Kadhafi, Ranger, aged 23 years
ANUARI BIHIRA Lumumba, Ranger, aged 27 years
BADI MUKANDAMA Djamali, Ranger, aged 27 years
FAZILI JUSTIN Junior, Ranger, aged 29 years
KAMBALE MUTSOMANI Jean-Louis, Ranger, aged 31
years
KAMBALE TEREMUKA Jules, Ranger, aged 28 years
KASOLE JANVIER Joseph, Ranger, aged 30 years
MASUMBUKO MALEKANI Ruphin, Driver, aged 40 years
MUGISHO KULONDWA Augustin, Ranger, aged 27 years
MUHINDO ISEVIHANGO Jeannot; Ranger, aged 30 years
MUHINDO KATEMBO Jacques, Ranger, aged 29 years
NDAGIJIMANA NDAHOBARI Héritier, Ranger, aged 27
years
PALUKU KALONDERO Moise, Ranger, aged 30 years
All of those that lost their lives leave behind families,
colleagues, parents and grieving friends.
Established in 1925 as Africa’s first national park and designated a UNESC0 World Heritage Site since 1979, the Virunga National Park (Parc National des Virunga), in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, stretches 7,800km² from the Virunga Mountains in the South, to the Rwenzori Mountains in the North, bordering Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Rwenzori Mountains National Park and Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda.
In recent years, poaching and the Congo Civil War have seriously damaged its wildlife population. The park is managed by the Congolese National Park Authorities, the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) and its partner the
Virunga Foundation.
The ICCN is a Congolese governmental partner tasked with the protection and conservation of the Virunga National Park and Kahuzi-Biega National Park, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Members of the ICCN are charged with the overall protection of the parks and the endangered Mountain Gorilla.
