Rebels in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have vowed to stop killing rare mountain gorillas after sparking outrage by slaughtering two this month, conservationists said Wednesday. Fighters loyal to dissident DRC general Laurent Nkunda pledged to halt the killings of the highly endangered species in a three-hour meeting on Tuesday with officials from the Virunga National Park mediated by the United Nations and Congolese army, they said.
The rebels also agreed to allow wardens to return to the southern portion of the park, where two silverbacks gorillas were killed on January 5 and 11, to resume protective patrols, the charity Wildlife Direct said in a statement.
The killings of the two gorillas prompted fears of a mass slaughter and deep concern about the future of the species, only about 700 of which remain in the wild, all in the mountains of Rwanda, Uganda and the eastern DRC.
Nkunda's men, blamed for sowing insecurity in parts of eastern Congo, were blamed for the deaths of both gorillas, which were slaughtered and then eaten.
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