Gunmen kill ranger in Congos Virunga park after re-opening

Militiamen have killed a ranger in Congo’s Virunga National Park, the park said on Friday, less than a month since it reopened after being shut down because of insecurity.

Virunga, abutting the forest-cloaked volcanoes of the western Rift Valley, is home to over half the world’s population of mountain gorillas and other unique species like the golden monkey.

It was closed for eight months after gunmen kidnapped tourists and killed a ranger trying to defend them last May.

Ranger Freddy Mahamba Muliro was killed on Thursday while protecting a security post, one of 176 rangers to have been killed protecting the park since it was established in 1925, Chief Warden Emmanuel Merode said.

“We are in deep mourning,” Merode said in a statement. “Ranger Freddy’s death marks another devastating loss for our rangers.”