Africa, August 06: For the past week a remarkable battle has been raging in the mountain forests of Eastern Congo. Park rangers entrusted with protecting some of the world’s most endangered gorillas have launched an offensive against the rebel armies in the area and the charcoal industry that helps to support them.
Specially trained wildlife officers, backed by UN troops, have attacked and destroyed hundreds of illegal charcoal kilns deep in the forests of Virunga National Park, in a bid to disrupt the environmentally devastating industry.
The $30m (£17.7m) trade helps fund the myriad armed groups who destabilise this region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and its perpetrators are unlikely to accept the counterattack. Speaking from his mountain base in Rumangabo, the park’s director, Emmanuel de Merode, said his men were “braced for a violent reaction” to their strike.
–Agencies