Four rangers have been killed by poachers in Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The incident earlier this week occurred when the men, all members of a 10-man Garamba patrol team, tracked the collar of a poached elephant to a poachers’ camp in the western Azande hunting area.
In a statement, African Parks said an exchange of gunfire followed and the outnumbered Garamba unit was forced to disperse.
The African Parks helicopter that was part of the operation was deployed to help rescue the rangers.
The chopper also came under fire but managed to retrieve six members of the patrol unit and drop them at a safe area.
Two men were flown back to the park headquarters at Nagero to receive treatment for injuries they sustained in the skirmish.
The helicopter took multiple hits and was unable to fly back for the remaining evacuated men back to the nearest town, forcing them to walk.
On Thursday the bodies of the remaining four men were discovered when a reinforced patrol team managed to access the site of the attack.
“Our sincere condolences go to the families of the four men who tragically lost their loved ones while they were bravely eliminating the scourge of elephant poaching from Garamba National Park,” African Parks chief executive Peter Fearnhead said.
“This brings to eight the number of people who have lost their lives in Garamba in 2015 alone.”
African Parks is a non-governmental organisation that is focused on the conservation of African wildlife.