Kinshasa - Five park rangers were killed
in a joint operation with the army to rescue an American
journalist and three park rangers, who went missing in a
wildlife reserve in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a
local official said on Sunday.
Unidentified gunmen attacked the group late on Friday in the
Okapi Wildlife Reserve in Mambasa territory. Some others in the
group escaped.
Mambasa administrator Alfred Bongwalanga said security
forces and park rangers had launched a rescue operation that
located the missing members of the group. It was not immediately
clear how the rangers were killed.
"There are five dead. They are all park rangers who were
involved in the operation. They had been backing the army," he
told Reuters by telephone.
Eastern Congo has been the theatre of numerous wars and
uprisings over the last two decades, and rebels, militia
fighters and bandits still present a security risk in many
areas.
Park rangers trying to protect dwindling populations of
elephants and gorillas often clash with poachers and other armed
criminals who exploit minerals, wildlife and other resources.