World Wildlife Fund

Fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo has escalated again, bringing increased human suffering and ending a brief period when conservationists were allowed full access to Virunga National Park. Just last week, WWF and rangers from the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN) had planned to reenter the park to track gorillas. In September, three patrol posts were abandoned after attacks by rebel forces. The current wellbeing of the park's mountain gorillas is unknown.

In another recent setback for gorilla conservation, rangers in Virunga National Park arrested two men in possession of a dead juvenile mountain gorilla. This latest death is related to the ongoing conflict that has left parts of the park unprotected by rangers. So far, ten mountain gorillas have been killed this year.

The fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has pushed more than 40,000 people from their homes and threatens the forest habitat of mountain gorillas and other wildlife living in Virunga National Park. WWF is active on the ground to reduce the environmental effects of this conflict and help meet humanitarian needs. WWF's work in the region builds on more than 20 years of supporting Virunga National Park and its surrounding communities.

WWF is also a member of the International Gorilla Conservation Program (IGCP), that has been providing equipment and logistical support to ICCN rangers - including a special unit that made regular patrols until it was forced out by the fighting. The IGCP is a partnership of three international organizations - WWF, African Wildlife Foundation and Fauna & Flora International - that ensure the conservation of mountain gorillas and their forest habitat in Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.