By Theodore Shoebat

There was a massacre in the Congo, with eighteen slaughtered, including 13 rangers. They were murdered by rebels. The rangers were killed in the line of duty fighting to defend civilians from the murderous rebels. One of the civilians who was attacked was Kos Nzabonimpa, his three children, his wife and two other women. They were driving to a funeral, not knowing that there were to be ambushed by murderers who want to make more funerals. Kos survived, but his soul is shattered by trauma. He got out of his vehicle before it combusted into flames.  “Really, it was God who saved me,” he stutters. “I should be in the cemetery now.” Kos’s car was one out of three vehicles that were attacked that day busy road between the metropolis of Goma and the small town of Rutshuru. Sadly, his two children did not make it, as their charred bodies were discovered in the vehicle. His twelve year old son was found lying next to the car with a bullet in his stomach. The killing happened not far from  the Virunga National Park, world-famous for its mountain gorillas. Rangers responded to the gunmen and more slaughter ensued. The park administrator reported that: “We can confirm that the perpetrators of this attack were the armed group FDLR-Foca”. According to a report from Taz:

The balance, according to Congo’s nature conservation agency ICCN: 13 dead rangers and five dead civilians. Four rangers and a civilian are being treated at the hospital in Goma, 40 kilometers away. ICCN director Cosma Wilungula speaks of one of the deadliest days in the recent history of Virunga Park.

In a press release, the park administration announced that it was an attack on the local population, that the rangers had rushed to defend and were not the primary target. “We can confirm that the perpetrators of this attack were the armed group FDLR-Foca,” said Wilungula. 60 armed rebels had set the ambush.

The Rwandan Hutu militia FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) with its military wing Foca (Armed Forces of the Redeemer) has been active in the Congo under various names for over 25 years, emerging from the fugitive perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide of the Tutsi. She is responsible for countless massacres.

For about a year now , the armies of Rwanda and Congo have been conducting joint operations against them for the first time since 2009 . In September, FDLR military leader Sylvestre Mudacumura was murdered at his headquarters on the edge of Virunga Park.