The HQ of the park at Lusinga in Katanga province was on Tuesday "the target of an armed raid carried out by a group of unidentified assailants", the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN) said in a statement.

"This attack on this major biotope of the national heritage has resulted in heavy human and material losses: five members of the park's staff have tragically lost their lives," ICCN director general Yves Milan Ngangay said in the statement.

Equipment was also looted and infrastructure suffered extensive damage, he said.

Security forces have restored full control of Upemba park and the Lusinga office, the ICCN said.

Nature parks and reserves in the Democratic Republic of Congo are often caught up in conflicts over their boundaries and the resources they contain, especially mineral resources.

Created in 1939, Upemba park was home to black rhino, elephants, buffaloes, leopards, lions and other endangered species whose populations have since been largely decimated.

In 2021, a warden at the park was killed and three others were injured in an attack.