Two rangers killed in DRC’s Virunga National Park

Gunmen killed two rangers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) Virunga National Park on Sunday, the Congo Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN) said in a statement, the second attack this month in the country’s restive east.

The attack took place near Rwindi in North Kivu province, north of another attack on May 18, in which three rangers and a worker were killed.

Fighters from the Mai Mai militia were likely to blame, the ICCN said, based on its sources. Reuters was unable to confirm this, and the Mai Mai could not be reached for comment.

The Mai Mai comprise several armed bands that were formed to resist two invasions by Rwandan forces in the late 1990s. They have since morphed into a variety of ethnic-based militia, smuggling networks and protection rackets.

Founded in 1925, Virunga National Park has been recognised as a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1979.

Virunga is a vast expanse of deep forests and volcanoes, with more species of birds, reptiles and mammals than any other protected area in the world. The park shelters rare mountain gorillas.

The park has been caught in the middle of militia activity that has destabilised surrounding regions since civil wars that were fought around the turn of the century.

The ICCN warned of a resurgence of violence in February after suspected Mai Mai militants killed a ranger in a third attack.

Reuters