Baraza

Category: Emergencies, Gorillas | Date: Jul 09 2008 | By: baraza

It’s another sad day for conservation. We’ve just seen it on the wires and it’s been reported on Gorilla Protection blog that a WWF vehicle carrying 11 passengers including ICCN staff in the Virunga National Park was attacked and two people have died. Sadly they were both women, the wife and daughter of the Park warden. The attackers were the Mai Mai - you can read about it on the BBC piece on the attack

This incident reminds me of how complex the political and security situation is in this part of Africa. The Mai Mai are not Nkunda’s men, but a community-based militia that formed to resist the invasion of Rwandan forces and Rwanda-affiliated Congolese rebel groups, they are also exploiting the war for their own advantage by various illegal acts.

I’ve just spoken to someone at WWF Nairobi but they haven’t got any more update than what Radio Okapi has reported

According to Wikipedia the “Mai Mai” include armed forces led by warlords, traditional tribal elders, village heads, and politically motivated resistance fighters. The Mai Mai are particularly dangerous because they have had only the most tenuous internal cohesion, and different Mai Mai groups ally themselves with a variety of domestic and foreign government and guerilla groups at different times. The term Mai Mai does not refer to any particular movement, affiliation or political objective but to a broad variety of groups.

Confused? Not to worry, so am I!

The Mai Mai have been particularly active in the provinces in the east bordering Rwanda, North Kivu and South Kivu (the “Kivus”), which were under the control of the Rwanda-allied Banyamulenge-dominated rebel faction, the Rally for Congolese Democracy-Goma (RCD-Goma).

This is not the first time they have attacked park wardens. In May of 2007, Mai Mai killed a wildlife officer in Virunga National Park and threatened to kill mountain gorillas if the government retaliated. Watch the video made by Elie Mundima last year

All WildlifeDirect staff offer their sincere condolences for the families and relatives of those who were involved in the attack and we wish all ACF staff and ICCN are safe.

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Tags: , Mai Mai, Virunga National Park, Warden attacked