Global conservation charity WWF has been accused of funding and working with anti-poaching guards who allegedly tortured and killed people in national parks in Asia and Africa. It says it is commissioning an independent review into the allegations made as a result of the investigation by internet news site BuzzFeed. The probe alleges its “war on poaching” is causing civilian casualties. Indigenous people and villagers have been shot, beaten unconscious, sexually assaulted, and whipped by armed guards in parks in places like Nepal and Cameroon, BuzzFeed alleges. WWF funds, equips and works with these guards, the report says, accusing some staff of turning a blind eye to abuses. It also links WWF staff to a deal to buy assault rifles in the Central African Republic in 2009, against its own policies. BuzzFeed said it carried out a year-long investigation in six countries, based on more than 100 interviews and thousands of pages of documents, including confidential memos, internal budgets, and emails discussing weapons purchases.

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