adminLeonard Ncube Victoria Falls Reporter
ZIMBABWE Parks and Wildlife Management Authority rangers were on Saturday morning involved in a shootout with a suspected syndicate of armed Zambian poachers resulting in the death of two illegal hunters from the neighbouring.
An AK47 rifle and some foodstuffs were recovered following the shoot-out.
The Chronicle learnt that rangers patrolling the Zambezi National Parks Game Park at Matetsi Unit came face to face with a group of about 10 poachers who immediately opened fire.
The alert rangers returned fire and two suspected poachers were shot dead while the others escaped.
Bodies of the suspected poachers were taken to the Victoria Falls District Hospital mortuary.
“A team of rangers was involved in a shootout with poachers who first opened fire. The rangers shot back and the poachers, who’ve been confirmed to be Zambians, fled but two were already dead,” said a Zimparks official.
The shootout took place early in the morning at Matetsi Unit, about 30km outside Victoria Falls town along the highway to Kazungula Border Post.
Identities of the dead have not been made public as police are yet to inform their counterparts in Zambia, a police source said.
National police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba could not immediately comment.
Recently, Environment, Water and Climate Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri said poaching was a security threat hence they were roping in the army.
“We’ve now roped in the army and you will see a very serious operation which should send a warning to these poachers that we’re now very serious,” said Muchinguri-Kashiri.
“Poaching is a serious security threat; it’s actually second to terrorism. As such we need to come up with clever strategies to fight poaching because poachers have become sophisticated,” she said.
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