Ruhengeri
| Ruhengeri | |||
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| State : |
 Rwanda
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| Province : | Northern Province | ||
| Coordinates : | 1 ° 30 ′ S , 29 ° 38 ′ E | ||
| Residents : | 70,525 (2002) | ||
| Time zone : | CAT (UTC + 2) | ||
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Ruhengeri is a city in northwest Rwanda . The city is located in the Northern Province . Ruhengeri is the capital of today's Musanze district . For this reason the city is sometimes referred to as the "Musanze".
geography
Ruhengeri is located in the triangle of Rwanda, Uganda and the DR Congo in the north of the lava plain at the foot of the Virunga volcanoes . The Bulera Lake and the Volcanoes National Park are located near the city .
history
As part of the guerrilla war of the Rwandan Patriotic Front , Paul Kagame planned an attack on the city. The aim was to unsettle the population as well as a direct attack on the regime, for which Ruhengeri was a stronghold. On January 23, 1991, the RPF captured Ruhengeri, freed a large number of political prisoners and captured large numbers of weapons and equipment before retreating into the woods that evening.
After reports of massacres, the RPF launched an extensive offensive. At the start of the offensive, Ruhengeri was captured before the RPF turned to Kigali.
politic and economy
Before the territorial reform of Jan. 1, 2006, Ruhengeri was the capital of the Ruhengeri Province . This was merged with the Byumba Province and parts of the Kigali Province to form the Northern Province. Byumba is the new capital of the province . The official name of the city remains Ruhengeri.
The tourism to the mountain gorillas in the Volcanoes National Park in the Virunga Mountains is economically important . There are a number of hotels and banks in Ruhengeri. The industry processes pyrethrum and grain .
The city has a small airport that has an unpaved grass runway.
population
The last census in 2002 counted 70,525 inhabitants.
| year | Residents |
|---|---|
| 1978 | 18,942 |
| 1991 | 29,286 |
| 2002 | 70,525 |
Web links
swell
- ↑ a b Musanze District - Official Homepage
- ↑ The General Census of Population and Housing Rwanda: August 16-31, 2002 ( Memento of the original from January 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
