Gorilla Habitat Seized By Rebels in Congo

KINSHASA, Congo, Oct. 7 -- Rebels have seized an area in eastern Congo that serves as a wildlife habitat for endangered mountain gorillas, threatening one of the last known populations of the animals, conservationists said Sunday.

Shelling and heavy gunfire could be heard from the headquarters of the Virunga National Park, and rangers were forced to flee over the weekend, according to the international conservation group WildlifeDirect.

Only 700 mountain gorillas exist in the world, and more than half live in the Virunga conservation area, a huge swath of territory at the intersection of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda.

Rebels loyal to renegade Gen. Laurent Nkunda have frequently battled over the park in their clashes with the army. The rare gorillas are caught in the fighting; 10 have been killed this year.

"This conflict has no place in the park, least of all in the habitat of these animals," said Norbert Mushenzi, director of the southern section of the park for the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature.

The area containing the mountain gorillas was also attacked in January, when two silverbacks were killed. Four months ago, the body of a female gorilla was found. Conservationists say it was killed execution-style.

International wildlife groups concerned about the welfare of the gorillas are funding a $100,000 program to increase the number of rangers patrolling the habitat.

Eastern Congo has been gripped by violence involving militias and rebels for more than a decade. Government forces have failed to prevent sporadic outbreaks of violence since the end of the country's four-year war in 2002.

Virunga National Park, established in 1925 as Africa's first national park, is located in a particularly lawless area that the government has struggled for years to bring under control.

"This is a human conflict that is involving the mountain gorillas. They are not a target, but can so easily get caught in crossfire and shelling," said Emmanuel de Merode, director of WildlifeDirect.

Earlier this month, hundreds of people, including rangers and their families, fled the park after fighting broke out. Wildlife groups said large areas of the park, including several patrol posts, had been occupied by Nkunda's forces and looted.

Nkunda's forces later allowed a handful of rangers to return. But the most recent outburst of fighting forced the rangers to flee again, leaving no one to track the rare animals.