Chimpanzees in Uganda's Ngogo Community Wage Deadly Civil War Killing 28
Image: 조선일보

Chimpanzees in Uganda's Ngogo Community Wage Deadly Civil War Killing 28

10 April, 2026.Africa.36 sources

Key Takeaways

  • Ngogo chimpanzee group split into Western and Central factions around 2015.
  • Two subgroups engaged in a years-long, lethal conflict described as a chimpanzee 'civil war'.
  • Ngogo is the world's largest known wild chimpanzee group in Kibale National Park.

Ngogo Chimpanzee Civil War

Researchers documented 24 sustained attacks by the smaller Western group on the larger Central group between 2018 and 2024.

Image from Antena 3 Noticias
Antena 3 NoticiasAntena 3 Noticias

The violence was coordinated, with adult males as the main attackers.

The conflict was not between strangers but former companions who had groomed and cooperated for years.

The split was attributed to a convergence of pressures including the group's unusually large size, deaths of key social bridge males, an alpha male turnover, and a respiratory disease outbreak.

Survivors and the Strike Call

Survivors described scenes of workers pounding on locked metal doors as smoke filled the stairwells.

Nasrin Begum told Al Jazeera: We could hear them screaming but we could not reach them.

Image from Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting CorporationAustralian Broadcasting Corporation

The Bangladesh Garment Workers' Federation called a nationwide strike.

This was not an accident. This was corporate murder, Akter said.

Labour Minister Tahmina Akhter pledged an immediate government investigation.

Firefighter Mahmud Iqbal said 47 people had been injured.

Supply Chain Under Scrutiny

Rahman Textile produced clothing for several European fashion brands.

Both companies said they were deeply saddened by the deaths.

Hessen's compliance team had audited the factory in March.

Rahman Textile owner Faisal Rahman issued a statement claiming the factory had passed its most recent safety inspection in January.

Clean Clothes Campaign spokesperson said the audit system was fundamentally broken.

Rahman was being questioned about allegations that the factory's emergency exits had been welded shut to prevent worker theft.

More on Africa