Gorilla Protection

Category: Uncategorized | Date: Oct 31 2008 | By: paula

 A ceasefire has been announced by Nkunda and the situation in Goma is quieter today but still tense. Our friends on the ground continue to iform us about the state of confusion, disappointment and abject fear.  Eyewitnesses say that the humanitarian situation is ‘dire’ with thousands of displaced people looking for a safe place to set up. While NGO’s have left Goma to the safety of Gisenyi on the Rwanda side of the border  Congolese civilians are not allowed to cross and sadly have few choices. There is no food or water in Goma.  Access to other towns is blocked by armed militias. The BBC describes those attempting to return to IDP camps getting shot at. They say that there is nothing there anyway as the former IDP camps have been looted and burned.   There are few NGO’s still providing support on the ground. Even Monuc have evacuated their non essential staff in fear that Nkunda’s troops will break the ceasefire and attack Goma.

Rangers this is from Mongabey: Five days after rebels occupied Virunga Park’s headquarters, thirty-nine wildlife rangers are still unaccounted in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). During the takeover, which included fighting between the Congolese army and the rebels, many of the rangers fled into the forest.

The rangers who fled do not have food, water, or shelter elsewhere in the park. In addition, so long as they remain in the park they are bystanders in a civil conflict. “These people have devoted their lives to protecting Virunga’s mountain gorillas - whose survival now also hangs in the balance.” Kümpel adds.

Tags: CNDP, Conflict, Congo, Laurent Nkunda, rebels, Virunga National Park