Congo Violence Threatens Rare Mountain Gorilla Population In Africa’s Oldest Park

IN FILE- Mountain Gorillas and Congolese Conservation Rangers from the Bukima area of Virunga National Park July 23, 2007 in Eastern Congo. Congolese conservation rangers working in conjunction with conservation group Wildlife Direct are working to protect the remaining Mountain Gorillas in the area.BRENT STIRTON-GETTY IMAGES

Fighting between the FARDC, M23 and other local militias is increasingly frequent in and around the park, complicating nature conservation work and blocking development projects for the benefit of the impoverished local population in the park. The communities surrounding the park, the wildlife and the forests are at risk because of the war raging in and around Virunga Park.

Virunga National Park was founded in 1925 with the main objective of protecting the mountain gorillas living in the forests of the Virunga Massif. It was the first National Park to be established on the African continent. For more than two decades, the park has faced repeated wars.