At least 17 dead and several seriously injured in the Virunga park in the DRC

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An attack took place Friday morning about 40 kilometers from Goma. At least thirteen park rangers from Virunga were killed on the spot, as well as four civilians, according to the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN), responsible for the management of all DRC parks.

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ICCN also identifies three seriously injured among the guards (one of whom was life-threatening), and at least six among the civilians. Cosma Wilungula, the director general of the institute, attributes this attack to " around sixty " FDLR elements " heavily armed ".

Friday morning, in the Rumangabo area, in the east of the country, the assailants attacked one of the convoys of civilian vehicles traveling between Goma and Rutshuru to transport food. ICCN teams are trying to keep them safe because they are regularly targeted at the park. Mr. Wilungula. He evokes a tense security context in the area, due to the presence of several armed groups. “ A team of almost fifteen people has been dispatched to secure the populations and support the convoy. There had already been threats for some time. "

There is also a certain type of discontent from a group of Mai-Mai ...

Cosma Wilungula

Magali Lagrange

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