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Congo-Kinshasa: Conservationists Say Conference Good for Gorillas
Kigali - It is now over three months and gorilla conservationists on the RD Congo side of the Virunga park have not been able to monitor the precious mountain gorillas but the blame rests with rebels loyal to dissident General Laurent Nkunda, RNA reports.

The Rangers have not had access to the gorilla sector since 3rd September as a result of conflict between rebels and the (government) army, Ms. Samantha Newport, WildLife Direct Communications Director told RNA from eastern DRC.

"The gorillas are facing the same threats as always. The rebels still control Jomba and Bikenge (out-posts)", she said on Thursday. The two areas are in the Virunga National Park. WildlifeDirect is a group that promotes wildlife protection through blogs by rangers and conservationists.

According to rangers, the rebels attacked Jomba and Bikenge patrol posts pillaging weapons and communications equipment four days after Rugira Sebuja Faustin, a park ranger, was killed during an attack on a patrol post north of Rushuru - which is a rebel stronghold.

Wildlife Direct has evacuated Bukima patrol post and fears the worst for the gorillas.

Ms. Samantha told RNA that the gorillas are not targeted specifically, but happen to live in an area that is strategically important to the conflict for the rebels. The hope now lies with the ongoing DRC government organised conference in Goma for belligerents in the conflict.

Up to 800 delegates coming from congolese tribes in the North and South Kivu provinces as well militias roaming the vast jungles in the area, are in attendance. However, Rwandan rebels - the FDLR were not welcome.

President Joseph Kabila also changed his mind to grace the peace conference but has ruled out any contacts with General Nkunda.

"We are hoping there will be a positive result to the peace conference and that the military and the rebels will leave the Ranger patrol posts so that the Rangers can go in and do their job", said Samantha.

At least nine mountain gorillas have been killed in the Virunga park since January last year. There are around 700 mountain gorillas left in the world -- 380 in Virunga and 320 in neighboring Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.

WildlifeDirect estimates that since the beginning of the conflict in eastern Congo nearly a decade ago, some 150 park rangers have been killed on active duty. Rugira Sebuja Faustin, the latest victim, was shot in the stomach around 11 pm on August 31st.

Mountain gorillas are generally well-protected relative to the more common lowland gorillas in other parts of Africa. As such, the July killings of at least five mountain gorillas sparked international outrage and led the U.N. to send a team of investigators to the region which is recovering from a decade of war.

The Virunga National Park lies from the Virunga Mountains to the Rwenzori Mountains in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo which borders the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Rwenzori Mountains National Park in Uganda. Covering 7,800 Km it was established in 1925 as Africa's first national park and classified as a World Heritage Site in 1979.

It contains within this expanse of land the greatest diversity of habitats of any park in Africa, from steppes, savannas and lava plains, swamps, lowland and forests to volcanoes, according to conservation groups.


http://allafrica.com/stories/200801170903.html
 

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