RANGER KILLINGS RESUME NOT LONG AFTER VIRUNGA IS REOPENED FOR THE PUBLIC
(Posted 11th March 2019)
Not long after the Virunga National Park in Eastern Congo was reopened are new reports coming in that another ranger has been killed during an attack on their outpost.
Virunga, a park originally formed in the mid 1920’s, is a global biodiversity hotspot and home to the critically endangered mountain gorillas and a number of other rare game.
“We are in deep mourning for Ranger Freddy. It is a tragedy that his young life has been cut short in dedicated service to Virunga. Now more than ever, Ranger Freddy’s death highlights the very real threats to our rangers in their protection of Virunga national park,” said Emmanuel de Merode, the national parks Chief Warden.
Merode himself had been targetted in an assassination some years ago and had to undergo lengthy treatment after being shot several times.
2018 was one of the worst years for Virunga with at least a dozen rangers killed by free roaming militias. The kidnapping of British tourist and shooting of their guide then finally prompted the decision to close the park to review and revamp security before reopening earlier this year.
Given the latest attack on ranger positions it is now an open question if the park can actually be secured to the point of assuring safety for visitors and the new government in Kinshasa has its work cut out to finally bring peace into the war torn East of the country.
Some links to articles published on ATCNews about the Virunga National Park in the past can be found below:
https://atcnews.org/2018/04/10/virunga-more-rangers-killed-by-militias/
https://atcnews.org/?s=Virunga+
