Moba port

Moba
Moba
Coordinates: 7°02′23″S 29°45′58″E / 7.03982°S 29.766147°E / -7.03982; 29.766147Coordinates: 7°02′23″S 29°45′58″E / 7.03982°S 29.766147°E / -7.03982; 29.766147
Country	Democratic Republic of Congo
Province	Tanganyika
Territory	Moba

Moba port is a town located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Tanganyika Province. It is the administrative center of Moba Territory.

Location

Moba is situated on the western shore of the southern part of Lake Tanganyika, 140 kilometres (87 mi) south-east of Kalemie, to which it is linked by regular boat services. The larger town of Kirungu (Kilungu) is on a plateau 400 metres (1,300 ft) above the lake and 5 km from Moba. A dirt road leads down from Kirungu to a jetty in Moba.

Moba lies just south of the Mulobozi river. The Marungu highlands, a range of steep rugged hills, rises behind the town, bisected by the Mulobozi. The smaller northern section rises to an elevation of about 2,100 metres (6,900 ft) and the larger southern section to about 2,460 metres (8,070 ft).^[1]

People

In 1984 Moba had a population of 25,463. Its tribe is mostly Tabwa.

Civil war and aftermath

During the Second Congo War (1998-2003) the region became a battle zone between government forces and rebel groups. The area between Pweto, Moba and Moliro has been called the "Triangle of Death".^[2] In November 2000, DRC government troops with Interahamwe fighters, former Rwandan army troops now fighting for the DRC government and other allies launched an offensive. They captured positions held by the Congolese Rally for Democracy-Goma (RCD-Goma), such as Pweto, Pepa, and attacked Moba port. The RCD-Goma and Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) forces counter-attacked early in December 2000. The Rwandans re-took Pweto and Moba early in December 2000.^[3]

On 1 August 2007 a mob of demonstrators assaulted United Nations military observers and damaged offices belonging to the UNHCR and sister agencies. The United Nations withdrew from the town and ceased repatriation of refugees living in Zambia.^[4]

Economy

There are no paved roads in the Moba area nor within several hundred kilometres of the town. Two dirt roads, frequently impassable in the rainy season, are the only access by land from the west and south. Moba had long been without electricity. Since 1996, there is a small hydroelectric dam built to provide its population with electricity. This dam was sponsored by an Italian NGO, Mondo Gusto, on Ngandwe Fuamba river.

Economic activity in Moba is mostly agriculture, fishing and gold mining.

References

1. ^ "Marungu highlands". Birdlife. http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sitefactsheet.php?id=6072. Retrieved 2011-11-02. 
2. ^ "Three days in the "Triangle of Death"". MAG. 22 August 08. http://www.maginternational.org/news/dr-congo-three-days-with-clearance-teams-in-katanga/. Retrieved 2011-11-02. 
3. ^ Christian P. Scherrer (2002). Genocide and crisis in Central Africa: conflict roots, mass violence, and regional war. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 288-289. ISBN 0275972240. http://books.google.ca/books?id=ceFIryEHTL4C&pg=PA288. 
4. ^ "Refugees urge resumption of repatriation to Moba; UNHCR waits". UNHCR. 8 October 2007. http://www.unhcr.org/470a51c82.html. Retrieved 2011-11-02.