LILONGWE, May 8 (Xinhua) -- A British soldier, Matthew Talbot, was killed during counter-poaching operations in southern Malawi's Liwonde National Park, the British High Commission to Malawi confirmed Tuesday.
Talbot, killed on Sunday, was one of the British troops working alongside Malawian park rangers in a counter-poaching capacity building program.
According to a press statement by British Ministry of Defense, the program is designed to help save some of the most iconic species from extinction due to illegal wildlife trade.
British Defense Secretary Penny Mordaunt said in the statement that "I was saddened to hear of the death of Guardsman Matthew Talbot who died while carrying out vital counter-poaching work in Malawi."
"This tragic incident is a reminder of the danger our military faces as they protect some of the world's most endangered species from those who seek to profit from the criminal slaughter of wildlife," it added.
Liwonde National Park, about 113 km northeast of Malawi's commercial city of Blantyre, is one of the Malawi government wildlife conservation areas managed by African Parks, a non-profit conservation organization, in Malawi.
