Rebels Re-Take Entire Gorilla Sector

Filed under (Mountain Gorillas, Threats) by Gorilla Protection @ 03:01 am 07 Oct

This is Samantha at WildlifeDirect.

Director Mushenzi just called me from Rumangabo. I am in Goma. The rebels have re-taken the entire Mikeno Sector (see map in previous post). In other words the Gorilla Sector is now totally under rebel control and all the Mountain Gorillas of DR Congo are unprotected and unmonitored.

The rebels have actually made progress west of the sector to the main road that goes from Goma to Rumangabo to Rutshuru – to a place called Rugari. So Rumangabo may potentially get cut off from Goma. This of course is where many Rangers are based, and where all the Rangers who have been forced to flee their patrol posts are camping out.

The Director is assessing the situation and I will update you as soon as I hear anything else.

I don’t know if there is any reporting about this on the internet. It has literally just all happened.

Samantha

Update at 11am DR Congo time: Director Mushenzi has just told me they can hear heavy shelling at Bukima from where they are at Rumangabo and that he and the Rangers have taken the decision to evacuate all valuable equipment, like GPS’, binoculars, V-sat etc. to Goma. Samantha

Update at 18h30 DR Congo time: Norbert and his rangers have managed to evacuate valuable equipment from Rumangabo. It got distributed between the NGOs that have storage space. I got GPS’, sleeping bags, a generator, a couple of printers and some other boxes. I am wondering who got the satellite dish.

We are keeping track of the situation. Samantha

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

3^rd September 2007

More information on www.wildlifedirect.org/gorillaprotection

CONGO MOUNTAIN GORILLA SECTOR SEIZED BY REBEL TROOPS

The Mountain Gorilla sector in eastern DR Congo was seized and occupied by forces loyal to renegade General Laurent Nkunda following attacks on patrol posts in Virunga National Park early today that forced Rangers to flee. Two key patrol posts – Jomba and Bikenge – were looted of weapons, ammunition and communication equipment. Bukima evacuation is underway pending imminent attack (see map).

These are the 3 strategic patrol posts for the monitoring and protection of Mountain Gorillas and the evacuation involves the upheaval of some 300 individuals, including rangers and their families.

Norbert Mushenzi, Director of the Southern Sector of Virunga National Park for the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN) said, “If anything happens to the Mountain Gorillas now there is nothing we can do. As of today the sector is no longer under my control and we have been rendered powerless by these actions.“

The Mountain Gorilla sector, also known as the Mikeno Sector, was attacked in January 2007, when two Silverbacks were also killed. Another gorilla was executed in June and in July 5 were massacred causing an international outcry. The area continues to see heightened political instability (reported widely in the international media) and Rangers have been struggling to protect the Mountain Gorillas amid the threat of poachers and armed militia groups. On Thursday a Ranger was shot and killed north of Rutshuru, in another patrol post attack.

“It is vital that as conservation NGOs, we maintain our neutral position while politically charged conflict rages around us. Only by remaining apolitical will we have a chance of pushing the conservation agenda and the desperate need to protect the mountain gorillas onto the table of warring factions,” said Robert Muir, Project Leader for Frankfurt Zoological Society.

ICCN and conservation NGOs including WildlifeDirect, Frankfurt Zoological Society, ZSL, DFGF and IGCP are currently funding a $100,000 3-month crisis management program. The program aims to increase the number of rangers patrolling the sector and the frequency of these patrols, but it is now under threat following today’s attacks.

Dr Emmanuel de Merode, Director of WildlifeDirect said “Mountain Gorillas in Congo face enormous perils, as do the Rangers. They need our support even more now. We do not believe the rebels are specifically targeting the gorillas. The gorillas happen to live in one of the areas of the worst areas of the world for conflict that is strategically important for armed groups. But we fear for the safety of these endangered creatures.”

A census of the remaining gorilla families has been completed and initial results are reported on www.wildlifedirect.org/gorillaprotection. Additional information on this situation can also be found on this blog.

Some 1,100 Wildlife Rangers protect the National Parks of Eastern Congo, a region affected by a 10-year civil war. These parks are home to mountain gorillas, chimpanzees, forest elephants and rhinos. The Rangers have remained active in protecting these parks, four of which have been classified as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.

Editor’s Notes:

• Wildlifedirect.org was set up to support conservationists in Africa working on the ground in isolated and often dangerous conditions, notably the Rangers of DR Congo. The website hosts a number of blogs, allowing for direct support of and participation in conservation programs. WildlifeDirect is funded by the European Union and private donors; 100% of donations go to the cause that is supported by the donors.
• Mountain Gorillas are critically endangered, with only 700 remaining in the world, about 380 in the Virunga Volcanoes Conservation Area (shared by DRC, Rwanda and Uganda) and 320 in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda.   Despite the conflict in the region, their decline has been reversed thanks to international support and courageous conservationists coupled with the popularity of gorilla-watching tourism.
• 2007 Mountain Gorilla Killings in Virunga National Park, DRC

January – 2 Silverbacks killed

January – 1 adult female missing since this time

June – Kabirizi Family attack: 1 female killed, 1 female missing since this time. 1 orphan in Goma of deceased female

July – Rugendo Family: Silverback killed, 4 females killed (including an adult female whose remains were found weeks after), 1 orphan in Goma (Ndeze), 1 infant still missing/presumed dead. Total toll of attack on Rugendo family: 6 dead (including infant presumed dead), 1 orphan in care. Family down from 12 members to 5, with only one female now in the group that is not of a reproductive age.

August – Silverback Lulengo missing since January found.

Total killed to date in 2007: 9

Total missing to date in 2007: 2

• Congo Rangers work throughout the country to protect the National Parks of Congo and their wildlife from poachers, rebel groups, illegal miners and land invasions. Over 150 Rangers have been killed in the last 10 years protecting the 5 parks of eastern DRC, and Rangers worked throughout the civil war without receiving a salary. Rangers continue to struggle to fund patrols and many are directly supported by donations received through Wildlifedirect.org.
• Virunga National Park, Africa’s oldest national park (established in 1925) and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, is home to half the world’s mountain gorillas. Formerly known as Albert National Park, Virunga lies in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and covers 7,800 square kilometers. The park is managed by the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature, the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN).

  Map of the Mikeno Gorilla Sector, DRC ©Wildlifedirect.org

For additional information please contact:

Norbert Mushenzi, Director, Southern Sector of Virunga National Park, ICCN – mushelusenge@yahoo.fr

Robert Muir, Frankfurt Zoological Society, Goma – robertmuir@fzs.org or +243 (0)99725 1960

Dr Emmanuel de Merode, WildlifeDirect, Goma – edemerode@wildlifedirect.org

Samantha Newport, Communications Director, WildlifeDirect – snewport@wildlifedirect.org or +243 99 433 4645. 3-4^th Sep please call int’l code +8821621974901

Lucy Fauveau, Zoological Society of London (ZSL), Goma – zsl_drc@yahoo.fr or +254 99 7702894

Linda Nunn, Gearing Up 4 Gorillas, UK – linda@g4g.co.uk or +44 7801 531205

Also visit www.wildlifedirect.org/gorillaprotection for additional information and photos.

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