Isiro
| Isiro | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Coordinates | 2 ° 46 ′ N , 27 ° 37 ′ E | ||
| Basic data | |||
| Country | Democratic Republic of Congo | ||
| Haut-Uele | |||
| ISO 3166-2 | CD-HU | ||
| Residents | 200,000 | ||
Isiro is a university town and capital of the Haut-Uele Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the Rungu Territory . The city has around 200,000 inhabitants. Climatically it lies between the savannah and the tropical rainforest . Because of the surrounding high-yield coffee plantations, the city is also called the capital of green gold . Since 1998 it has been the location of the Uelle University .
history
The city was built from 1934 under the name Paulis as an intermediate station of the Congolese branch line ( Vicicongo ) and named after Albert Paulis . Construction was only completed a few years before independence in 1957. In 1965 the city was renamed after the nearby village of Isiro . It is the capital of the Ober-Uelle district .
During the civil war in 1964 , communist rebels killed more than 250 missionaries and nuns. About 50 nuns, among them the beatified Marie Clémentine Anuarite Nengapeta , were abducted to Isiro, some of them raped and also killed.
“At noon on November 29, 1964, she and her fellow sisters were abducted by members of the Simba tribe to Ibamhi and then to Isiro. There the black captain Pierre Olombe tried to rob her of her consecrated virginity. When he didn't succeed because his sister bravely resisted it, she was murdered in cold blood by the lecher. "
traffic
Isiro is located on the former Congolese branch line , a narrow-gauge railway with 60 cm gauge, which runs from Bumba (ship connection to Kinshasa ) to Mungbere in the northeast of the country. Today the railway belongs to the Congolese State Railways (SNCC). Before the second Congo War , a train to Aketi on the Itimbiri ran around every two or three months due to a lack of diesel .
Roads lead to Uganda , South Sudan and Kisangani . The one to Bumba has not been passable since the war. Isiro-Matari Airport belongs to category 4 and offers connections to the capital.