On March 3, a group of militants attacked the headquarters of Upemba National Park in the southern Democratic Republic of Congo.The attack left seven people dead and caused severe damage to facilities at the headquarters.A group claiming responsibility for the assault said it was part of an effort to achieve independence for the mineral-rich region of Katanga, of which Upemba is a part.Upemba National Parks staff members spoke to Mongabay from the DRC about the attack and its aftermath.
When Christine Lain, the director of Upemba National Park, heard gunfire coming from the outer boundary of the park’s headquarters complex a little before 6 in the morning of March 3, her first thought was that it was a part of a drill.
Upemba, a sprawling 11,730-square-kilometer (4,530-square-mile) network of grasslands and forests in the southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, isn’t a stranger to security threats. Its rangers have battled local militias, known as Mai-Mai, for years, and in January the park’s security team had run combat drills at its headquarters as part of contingency planning for an attack.
Lain wondered if another exercise was happening.
It didn’t take long for her to realize that something very different was underway.
