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 Lubero Territory is a territory in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Internally displaced persons On 10 June, 2014, the administrator of Lubero Territory, Joy Bokele, requested assistance for six hundred displaced households who sou ...

. 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 The Virunga Mountains (also known as Mufumbiro) are a chain of volcanoes in East Africa, in the area where Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Uganda meet. The mountain range is a branch of the Albertine Rift 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

. 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 Baraka or Barakah may refer to: * Berakhah or Baraka, in Judaism, a blessing usually recited during a ceremony * Barakah or Baraka, in Islam, the beneficent force from God that flows through the physical and spiritual spheres * Baraka, full ''ḥa ...

. 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

References

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

Location

Overview

Gallery

See also

References