As nyceve so ably documented,the conflict in the Congo is unbelievably stomach churning and tragic.
Well, in a certain type of way, it just got even more so:
KINSHASA, Congo - 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, said the international conservation group WildlifeDirect.
Only 700 mountain gorillas exist in the world, of which more than half live in the Virunga conservation area, a huge swath of territory at the intersection of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda.
Link
According to the article, 10 gorillas have already been killed this year during the fighting. Perhaps worse, rangers that have made their way back since being forced to flee have only been able to account for 18 of the 72 gorillas that live in the Congo's area of the park. These things are elusive, of course, but that's not an encouraging statistic.
Obviously, gorillas are very apt to get caught in the middle of mortar barrages or firefights. Beyond that, though Wikipedia says gorillas aren't usually killed for bushmeat, rebel armies throughout history are notoriously short on supplies such as food. Also, such armies are also equally chronically short of hard money to fund their efforts. In which vein...
They have been killed for their heads, hands, and feet, which are sold to collectors
700 left in the world. The only protection for a large percentage of these has been driven off.
Look into the eyes. You know what you see looking back? Us.
They play, they fight, they breastfeed. They are our closest relatives, with the exception of chimpanzees. To me, the mass murder of these beautiful creatures is tantamount to homicide.
On the whole, indeed, I think I'd rather talk to a gorilla. Show me the last time a gorilla brutally raped thousands of people, wiped out another species for sport, and initiated genocide. And though chimps wage nasty internecine warfare, complete with cannibalism, that's still a damned sight less than the aggression, hostility, and brutality that defines Homo sapien sapien.
Is this really the 21st century? What a fucking joke. No flying cars and no progress at all made in moving beyond our base reptilian instincts.
UPDATE: What a hell of way to wake up. It was very nice to see this on the recommended list, but then I went to Google News to check things (wrote this while really tired last night...didn't have the time or inclination to poke around elsewhere) and I see AFP is reporting:
Renegade troops in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are trying to forcibly enlist park rangers charged with protecting rare mountain gorillas, an animal welfare charity charged Sunday.
Forces loyal to cashiered general Laurent Nkunda, a powerful local leader, took control of the gorilla sector in Virunga national park as they fought with government troops, Wildlife Direct said.
"As a sign of escalating conflict however the rangers at Jomba (patrol post) were forced to flee Friday because the rebels were trying to force them to become combatants," it said in statement.
crossposted at My Left Wing