Luvungi

Luvungi is a town in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo situated on the Ruzizi River plain at the borders of Walungu and Uvira Territories in the province of South Kivu. It is close to both Rwandan and Burundian frontiers. It is believed to have a population of approximately 85,000 who represent a mix of ethnic Fulero, Vira, Bembe, Barega, Bashi, Burundians and Banyamulenge. Its economy is founded mainly on subsistence agriculture and the artisanal mining of cassiterite, an ore of tin.[1]

Luvungi, under Belgian colonial rule, was raided by German forces from modern-day Burundi in January 1915 during the East African Campaign in World War I. Although small-scale, the raid ended in defeat and the German commander Karl Schimmer was killed.[2] Mass rapes were reported in the town during the Kivu conflict in 2010, despite the presence of United Nations peacekeepers nearby.[3][4]

References
  1. "Luvungi". Luminosity. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  2. Samson, Anne (2016). "Ruanda and Urundi". 1914-1918 Online: International Encyclopedia of the First World War. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  3. "Les femmes violées de Luvungi". Paris Match. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  4. "Mass Rapes in Congo Reveals U.N. Weakness". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 September 2013.

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