A recent evaluation of PASA – Pan-African Sanctuaries Alliance about the situation of the four sanctuaries that exist in the Democratic Republic of Congo indicates that the Sanctuary Lwiro can be reached anytime by rebel advance.

Two days ago, the rebels of M23 Group took the city of Goma, the largest one in the area, with 1 million inhabitants, and now expand to the entire northeast of DRC, with Bukavu and Lwiro in the middle of the way.

Lwiro Sanctuary, which has 50 chimpanzees and 30 monkeys of other species, was already suffering from water shortages, when the pipe that distributes the water, including the Village of Lwiro, exploded days before.

Considering the imminent arrival of the rebels, it becomes necessary to restore the water supply, to prevent the villagers to move around looking for water.

PASA decided to give an emergencial support to the sanctuary, so they can keep the facilities running.

Director of Sanctuary Lwiro, Carmen Vidal, declared: “the tensions in the war area of Kivu are increasing and reaching the village of Lwiro, which can affect the relations of the Sanctuary with the locals.”

Besides Lwiro, there are three other sanctuaries in Congo: Jack Chimps Sanctuary, which is far from the conflict area; Lola ya Bonobo, of chimpanzee-bonobo, near the capital Kinshasa, and the Sanctuary of Grace, which hosts gorillas. These three sanctuaries are not affected by the armed conflict.