14 DAY TRIAL // The news just broke that yesterday morning several park rangers who were patrolling the Virunga National Park in the Republic of Congo were ambushed and killed by a group of Mai-Mai PARECO rebels.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, this attack resulted in the sudden death of two rangers and a government soldier. As well as this, three other government soldiers suffered severe injuries, and one of them presently finds himself in a critical state.
Apparently, these most recent victims up the number for park rangers killed while trying to protect the Virunga National Park to roughly 150 individuals.
The official website for the World Wildlife Fund explains that the park rangers killed in this attack were ambushed relatively close to Lake Edward.
Despite being taken by surprise, they succeeded in putting up a fight and killed five of their attackers. As well as this, they wounded two other rebels, making it possible for the local authorities to capture them.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) now warns that should SOCO, a London-based oil company, begin oil exploration activities in this part of the Republic of Congo, such clashes will take place ever more often and the number of human victims will considerably increase.
“WWF is deeply saddened to hear that more park protectors are coming under violent attack,” the Conservation Director of WWF International, Lasse Gustavsson, said.
Furthermore, “We are concerned that increased oil exploration activities like those carried out by SOCO will just deepen the crisis in this fragile region.”
As previously reported, the Virunga National Park in the Republic of Congo is presently listed as a World Heritage Site, and countless local human communities rely on the natural resources it provides them with in order to make a living.
Therefore, oil exploration is these regions can impact on local economic stability and eventually foster all sorts of conflicts.