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.
Luvungi was the site of a skirmish between Belgian and German forces in January 1915 during the East African Campaign in World War I. Mass rapes were reported in the town during the Kivu conflict in 2010, despite the presence of United Nations peacekeepers nearby.