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Lubero is a town in the North Kivu Province of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
. It is the administrative center of the Lubero Territory. Following the surrender of the
Mai-Mai The term Mai-Mai or Mayi-Mayi refers to any kind of community-based militia group active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that is formed to defend local communities and territory against other armed groups. Most were formed to resis ...
fighters in 2021, construction of a new market began in 2022, involving the mayor, ex-soldiers, "young people at risk and the vulnerable women". , the population of Lubero is not publicly known.


Location

The town is lies at an average altitude of , in the Virunga Mountains, at the western edge of
Virunga National Park Virunga National Park is a national park in the Albertine Rift Valley in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was created in 1925. In elevation, it ranges from in the Semliki River valley to in the Rwenzori Mountains. ...
, close to the international border with
Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
. Lubero lies approximately , by road, north of the provincial capital of
Goma Goma is a city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the North Kivu, North Kivu Province; it is located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu and shares borders with the Bukumu Chiefdo ...
. This location is approximately , by road, southwest of Beni, the nearest large town.


Overview

Lubero is a medium-sized town with several modern amenities including an airport, Lubero Airport, with a grass runway. In the hills around the town, a mini-hydropower station, ''Lubero Hydroelectric Power Station'', is planned to complement Mutwanga Hydroelectric Power Station and Rutshuru Hydroelectric Power Station, in supplying power to the communities in and around
Virunga National Park Virunga National Park is a national park in the Albertine Rift Valley in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was created in 1925. In elevation, it ranges from in the Semliki River valley to in the Rwenzori Mountains. ...
. Like most localities in
North Kivu North Kivu () is a Provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, province bordering Lake Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The capital city is Goma. Spanning approximately 59,483 square kilometers with a population esti ...
, Lubero has witnessed plenty of violence as the various militias have battled each other for real estate and treasure during the last two decades. Battles have also been fought between the militias, government forces and United Nations "peace keepers". The toll in human lives has been high. Many have been left with physical disabilities. More suffer long-term psychological war trauma. In 2022
MONUSCO The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or MONUSCO (an acronym based on its French name ), is a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A planned withdraw ...
announced that work had begun to build a market here involving ex-
combatant Combatant is the legal status of a person entitled to directly participate in hostilities during an armed conflict, and may be intentionally targeted by an adverse party for their participation in the armed conflict. Combatants are not afforded i ...
s as part of their integration into the community. The market was designed to offer protection to vulnerable women. On August 27, 2022, at least five people were stabbed, and several houses were burned during a community conflict, which opposes the inhabitants of the localities of Matulu and Bukununu in the Musindi Groupement south of Lubero territory in North Kivu. On September 7, 2022, four people of the same family were reported dead in a house collapse in Lukanga, the capital of the Bukenye Groupement, in the Lubero territory of North Kivu. On September 19, 2022, two people were killed in the village of Musenda, in the chiefdom of Bashaga, in the territory of Lubero, in North Kivu, during an incursion of the Mai-Mai militiamen of the Chandenga group. In September 2022, ten cases of kidnappings were reported in the locality of Bunyangingi, in the Itala Groupement in the Lubero territory, North Kivu. On September 25, 2022, a young man died after a grenade explosion in a Kipese village in the Bulengya Groupement, Lubero territory, North Kivu. In October 2022, the FARDC (''Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo'') killed six militiamen belonging to the Mai-Mai coalition of Mazembe and Baraka. The Congolese army retrieved three of their weapons of war during the fighting in Matembe village in the Lubero territory, North Kivu. In December 2022, two people died as a result of clashes between the Mai-Mai group of the ''Front des Patriotes pour la Paix'' (FPP/AP) of Kabido to the unidentified armed group of Kasinga village, in the Ngulo group, Lubero territory, North Kivu. In January and February 2023, at least 23 civilians were killed, more were reported missing, and thousands more were displaced as a result of clashes between Mai-Mai armed groups of the ''Front des Patriotes pour la Paix'' (FPP/AP) of Kabido, the ''Union des Patriotes congolais'' (UPC) of Kilalo and the Yira-Force and Mazembe coalition. In March 2023, nine people were killed and several others went missing following the armed attack carried out by ADF terrorists in the Nguli village in the Lubero territory, North Kivu, according to the provincial deputy Jean-Paul Lumbulumbu. In the same month, the rebels took civilians
hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized—such as a relative, employer, law enforcement, or government—to act, o ...
in the village of Katiri in Isale Kasongwere Groupement, in the
Beni territory Beni Territory, also known as Oicha Territory, is a territory of North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It's administrative center is the town of Oicha. It has been the site of fighting during the Allied Democratic Forces insurgency be ...
, North Kivu. Parenthetically, the insurgents also erected a stronghold in the Virunga National Park between the villages of Kavasewa and Karuruma.


Gallery


See also

* United Nations Force Intervention Brigade * MONUC *
March 23 Movement The March 23 Movement (), often abbreviated as M23 and also known as the Congolese Revolutionary Army (), is a Congolese Rwandan-backed rebel paramilitary group. Based in the eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it operates ...
* National Congress for the Defence of the People * Rally for Congolese Democracy * Rally for Congolese Democracy–Goma * Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda *
Mai Mai The term Mai-Mai or Mayi-Mayi refers to any kind of community-based militia group active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that is formed to defend local communities and territory against other armed groups. Most were formed to resis ...
* Rutshuru * Masisi * Western Rift Valley


References

{{coord, 00, 09, 18, S, 29, 14, 24, E, format=dms, display=title Populated places in North Kivu