Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo seized the Virunga National Park, home to the ``critically endangered'' mountain gorilla, after clashes with the national army, Congo's wildlife authority said.

The National Congress for the Defense of the People took control yesterday of the Virunga's gorilla sector and its headquarters at Rumangabo, 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature said in a statement on its Web site. ``Intense fighting'' forced more than 50 rangers to ``flee into the forests,'' it said.

``The seizure of our park headquarters at Rumangabo by rebels is unprecedented, even in all the years of conflict in the region,'' Park Director Emmanuel de Merode said.

Since Aug. 28, Congo's army has been battling the CNDP, led by former general Laurent Nkunda, who says he's defending Congo's Tutsi minority. Conflicts in North Kivu previously led to two civil wars between 1996 and 2003 in which up to 4 million people died, mostly through disease and starvation.

About 700 mountain gorillas, the only ones in the world, live in the border area of Congo, Uganda and Rwanda. Virunga, Africa's oldest national park and a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization heritage site, is home to 200 of the gorillas, according to the statement.

Civilians in Kibumba, 25 kilometers north of Goma, are fleeing continuing fighting between the two sides, Kinshasa- based Radio Okapi reported today.

The CNDP has ``taken measures to protect the park and its animals,'' rebel spokesman Bertrand Bisimwa said today in a telephone interview from North Kivu.

To contact the reporter on this story: Franz Wild in Goma via Johannesburg at abolleurs@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 27, 2008 07:23 EDT