Rebels take Virunga Park Station in violent morning attack
Category: Uncategorized | Date: Oct 26 2008 | By: paula
Conflict in eastern Congo is once again in the headlines, once again it’s very bad news.
Emmanuel on Gorilla.cd reports
“Fighting at Rumangabo started at 0400 today between the rebels of Laurent Nkunda and the army. It has now totally engulfed the park station and our Rangers have been forced to flee into the forests for their lives. The rebels now are the only occupants of the park station at Rumangabo. This has never happened before. This is a serious time. We need to get our 50+ Rangers back to safety in Goma, 45km south of Rumangabo. The main road is blocked because of the fighting so they are walking through the forests of the park south, to Kibumba, about 20km away, where we aim to pick them up in trucks. We are trying to maintain phone contact but they don’t have much battery life in their phones”.
Emmanuel has made an appeal on Gorilla.cd and any donations made here will go directly to support these rangers during these difficult times. I’ve spoken to some friends on the ground who say that the situation is extremely bad.
An ABC news report on Monuc website reports that “Rebels loyal to renegade Gen. Laurent Nkunda have seized a major army camp in eastern Congo in heavy fighting Sunday that sent thousands of civilians fleeing, U.N. officials and rebels said. An unknown number of soldiers, rebels and civilians were killed in the renewed fighting in North Kivu province, civilians said.
Government troops raced down the road north from the provincial capital of Goma to reinforce a counterattack Sunday morning. One tank careened into a group of fleeing civilians and killed three teenage boys”.
This is the second time that Nkunda and his rebels have attacked Rumangabo. Thousands more are now fleeing through the forests and aid agencies say that the fighting jeopardises the delivery of aid to the now malnourished victims of this escalating conflict.
More reports here on the Guardian and the BBC who state that the fighting is continuing and an unknown number of people have been killed. More than 200,000 people are said to have fled the area since the end of August.
Tags: CNDP, Laurent Nkunda, Mountain Gorillas, rumangabo, Virunga National Park
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Mountain Gorilla News- Gorilla warfare - Sydney Morning Herald
- Year of the Gorilla Opens With Hope for Virunga Park Gorillas - Environment News Service
- Official: Mountain gorillas surviving despite Congo conflict - Monsters and Critics.com
- Lesley Stahl: The Best Day - Women on the Web
- Gorillas weekly notes - OurSports Central (press release)
- News from Congo
- World Briefing | Africa Congo: Ugandan Rebels Kill 12 - New York Times
- Mediator calls for Congo truce ahead of summit - Reuters
- Central African to Restart Congo Copper, Cobalt Output in April - Bloomberg
- Global Update Hemorrhagic Fever Reappears in Congo - New York Times
- UN Finds Scenes of Desolation in Congo Area Attacked by Rebels - Voice of America
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10 Responses to “Rebels take Virunga Park Station in violent morning attack”
Annie, on 26 Oct 2008
What horrible news!!!!!!! I am so sorry to wake up this news today……..please everyone be safe!
Annie, on 26 Oct 2008
Hey hate to post this on this blog..as it may not be appropriate but everyone that an please go to Siew’s blog and sign the petition to protect animals in Malaysia..there are some very disturbing pictures!
sheryl bottner, on 26 Oct 2008
I’m stunned. This is more horrible than I ever imagined. I’ve seen the story on CNN.com and on the Washington Post and BBC News. I hope it’s getting tons of coverage.
s.
Jo Ann, on 27 Oct 2008
This is devastating news!! I am worried for the precious gorillas and the brave rangers who are trying to protect them!
I hope that this tragedy will get a lot of media coverage and that it will end soon!
sheryl, washington, dc, on 27 Oct 2008
It’s clear what Nkunda’s intentions are at this point - he stole all the ranger’s equipment and intends to use Rumangabo as one of his bases. If it’s true that he’s making a big play to take over Virunga, then he’ll have plenty of money from burning down the forest for charcoal. So much for his earlier claims about being a conservationist, eh? Not that anyone with a functioning brain believed him but with the world watching you’d think he’d try to present a more sympathetic image.
As for us here in the States, it’s time to start writing and expressing our deep concern - again - to our Congressional representatives and to the presidential candidates about the situation in Virunga. You can use congress.org as an easy-to-use portal for writing to your reps. Get busy.
s.
Lisa, California, on 27 Oct 2008
I will write all my representatives far and wide. Lisa
Steve, UK, on 27 Oct 2008
Its a very sad day and yet again this beautiful species is at serious risk.
I visited Rwanda and Uganda in 2006 and the Virungas are an enchanting location.
The Governments of the Major Powers should offer assistance and make a stand against Nkunda, before the Mountain Gorillas become extinct.
Then it will be to late.
Robin, on 27 Oct 2008
I’m sickened. I’ve written my representatives and urged them to put pressure on Rwanda to put pressure on Nkunda. I hope this gets more media coverage.
scarlet, on 27 Oct 2008
i hope that the UN presence can now at least help a little bit. i have been thinking about this situation nonstop since i heard about it yesterday morning. i hope hope hope that these brave folks get to safety, and also that no harm comes to the gorilla families in the park.
Global Voices Online » D.R. of Congo: Blogging From the War Zone, on 31 Oct 2008
[…] The fighting in Rumangabo, a military base north of Goma: “Fighting at Rumangabo started at 0400 today between the rebels of Laurent Nkunda and the army. It has now totally engulfed the park station and our Rangers have been forced to flee into the forests for their lives. The rebels now are the only occupants of the park station at Rumangabo. This has never happened before. This is a serious time. We need to get our 50+ Rangers back to safety in Goma, 45km south of Rumangabo. The main road is blocked because of the fighting so they are walking through the forests of the park south, to Kibumba, about 20km away, where we aim to pick them up in trucks. We are trying to maintain phone contact but they don’t have much battery life in their phones”. Emmanuel has made an appeal on Gorilla.cd and any donations made here will go directly to support these rangers during these difficult times. I’ve spoken to some friends on the ground who say that the situation is extremely bad. […]
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