KINSHASA, Aug 18, 2007 (AFP) - A joint mission of several UN agencies is conducting an emergency investigation into the shooting of endangered mountain gorillas in a Democratic Republic of Congo national park, UNESCO said Saturday.

In the last two months, seven of the primates have been killed in separate incidents in the Virunga park in northeastern DRC, a World Heritage site and tourist attraction, the United Nations cultural agency said.

PARIS, Aug 1, 2007 (AFP) - UNESCO called Wednesday on the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to urgently stop the slaughter of mountain gorillas in a national park where four were found killed last month.

'The four gorillas, one 'silverback gorilla' and three females, slaughtered in Bukima, probably on the night of 22 July, belonged to a group inhabiting an area regularly visited by tourists,' said a statement from UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura.