It is with great sadness that Virunga National Park confirms that today, 24 April 2020, there has been a significant attack by armed groups near Rumangabo village that has resulted in substantial loss of life. This includes civilians, Virunga employees and Virunga Park Rangers. At this time, all available information indicates that this was an attack on the local civilian population. Virunga Park Rangers were not the target of the assault, but lost their lives responding to the attack in defence of the local population. This is a devastating day for Virunga National Park and the surrounding communities.
This remains a developing situation and until the facts of the incident are verified, Virunga respectfully requests that speculation and misinformation are avoided. We will not be releasing further information regarding the identities of those that have sadly lost their lives until their families have been informed and we have confirmed the specific details regarding the attack.
Our thoughts are with the families and friends of all the victims as well as the injured, some of whom are fighting for their survival.
Please direct all enquiries to press@virunga.org