Church of England divests from Soco oil firm over Virunga operations

CoE sells 1.6m stake, citing ethical concerns over UK firm's controversial plans to drill in the Congo national park that's a last stronghold for endangered mountain gorillas

The Church of England (CoE) has sold its stake in a British oil and gas company over allegations of bribery, corruption and human rights abuses and what it said was the company's failure to unequivocally rule out drilling for oil in Africa's oldest national park.

London-listed Soco International has been criticised in the past two years by conservationists including WWF and Sir David Attenborough for its attempt to drill in Virunga in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which is a world heritage site and home to around half the world's mountain gorillas.