Pweto
Encyclopedia
Pweto is a town in the Katanga Province
of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(DRC). It is the administrative center of the Pweto Territory
. The town was the scene of a decisive battle in December 2000 during the Second Congo War
which resulted in both sides making more active efforts to achieve peace. Pweto and the surrounding region were devastated during the war. As of 2011 little had been done to restore infrastructure or rebuild the economy. The town is served by Pweto Airport
.
on the border with Zambia
.
The Luvua River
, a headstream of the Congo River
, leaves the lake just west of Pwetu to flow north to its confluence with the Lualaba River
opposite the town of Ankoro
. Where the Luvua exits the lake it runs through a series of violent rapids, falling several meters from the lake level.
The Mitumba mountains
rise to the west, forming a giant barrier between the lake and the Congo Basin broken by the Luvua valley.
A fertile plain stretches to the north and east.
Rainfall over the lake averages around 1080 millimetres (42.5 in) annually, with the most rain in December.
The average annual temperature is around 23 °C (73.4 °F). October is the warmest month with daily maximums up to 34 °C (93.2 °F), while July is the coolest with mean temperature of 20 °C (68 °F).
The lake has abundant and diverse fish, the most important economically being Oreochromis macrochir
, and fishing is an important part of the economy.
The local people also practice small-scale agriculture, growing cassava, millet, maize, groundnuts and sweet potatoes.
The Belgian and British colonial governments agreed that the border between the Belgian Congo
and Northern Rhodesia
(now Zambia), ran from the point where the Luvua leaves the lake in a straight line running eastward to a point on the shore of Lake Tanganyika
. This has the effect of technically placing the shoreline of the town in Zambian territory.
(1998-2003).
It followed an offensive in northeastern Katanga by DRC government troops with Interahamwe
fighters and former Rwandan army troops now fighting for the DRC government. They were assisted by Burundi FDD, local Mayi Mayi militias and Namibia
n and Zimbabwe
an troops. They captured positions held by the Congolese Rally for Democracy-Goma (RCD-Goma), such as Pepa
, and attacked Moba port on Lake Tanganyika. The Rwanda
n government protested against this violation of the cease fire agreement. The RCD-Goma and Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) forces counter-attacked early in December 2000.
The population of Pweto had tripled due to civilians fleeing from fighting elsewhere in Katanga, overwhelming health care facilities. Since the start of 2000 there had been 1,800 cases of cholera
, with 150 deaths from the disease.
Rwandan forces advancing from the north attacked the town, and the government forces suffered a crushing defeat.
The government leaders included General John Numbi
and the young General Joseph Kabila
, soon to become President
, who escaped by air. The defeat potentially opened the way for an advance on the major city of Lubumbashi
to the south.
The Rwandans were able to seize a large weapons stockpile.
Some 3,000 government soldiers escaped across the border into Zambia, as well as 60,000 civilians.
The fall of Pweto led to the assassination of President Laurent-Désiré Kabila
by his bodyguards, on 18 January 2001, and to a complete shift in the political situation on both sides.
The Rwandans chose not to pursue the Congolese forces into Zambia since President Paul Kagame
was concerned about further alienating international supporters. He was given a cold reception when he visited Washington.
In February 2001 the Rwandan Patriotic Army started to withdraw from Pweto. The Rwandan Chief of Operations, Colonel Karaka Karenze
, said about 3,000 Rwandans were leaving Pweto.
He said "This is generally in support of the peace process, but is also a goodwill gesture which we hope will bring an appropriate response from the government in Kinshasa".
During the wind-down of the Second Congo War
, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1399
was adopted unanimously on March 19, 2002. Stressing that no party would be allowed to make military gains during the peace process, the UN demanded that the RCD-Goma immediately withdraw from Moliro
and Pweto and for all other parties to withdraw to defensive positions called for in the Harare disengagement sub-plans.
On 21 June 2002, child soldiers of the pro-government Mai Mai militia entered the town, and RDC officials hastily left.
Later that month the Rwandan-backed RDC-Goma forces again took control of Pweto, threatening the peace agreement under which Pweto was declared a demilitarized zone.
As of 2010 the population of Pweto was estimated at 24,767.
Although the civil war ended in 2003, the region has been severely damaged by the civil war and reconstruction has been slow.
Basic government services are still not available, public infrastructure is in poor condition and the local economy is scarcely functional. Corruption and lack of confidence in stability are handicaps to investment.
In June 2011 a fight broke out between militants of the People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy
(PPRD) and those of Congolese Solidarity for Democracy and Development over participation in the June 30 parade.
In September 2011 MONUSCO, the United Nations peacekeeping force, reopened a representative office in Pweto.
The hope was that this would guarantee security during the forthcoming elections.
In July 2011, an Australian mining company announced that a feasibility study for an open cut copper mine at nearby Kapulo
had given positive results. The find was valued at $141 million. The company said they were upgrading the road from Pweto to improve access to the Pweto airstrip
, which is 45 minutes by road away from the mine, and planned to start production in November 2012.
Katanga Province
Katanga Province is one of the provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Between 1971 and 1997, its official name was Shaba Province. Under the new constitution, the province was to be replaced by four smaller provinces by February 2009; this did not actually take place.Katanga's regional...
of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
(DRC). It is the administrative center of the Pweto Territory
Pweto Territory
Pweto Territory is a territory in Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo .The headquarters are in the town of Pweto.-Geography:Pweto is part of the district of Haut-Katanga....
. The town was the scene of a decisive battle in December 2000 during the Second Congo War
Second Congo War
The Second Congo War, also known as Coltan War and the Great War of Africa, began in August 1998 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo , and officially ended in July 2003 when the Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo took power; however, hostilities continue to this...
which resulted in both sides making more active efforts to achieve peace. Pweto and the surrounding region were devastated during the war. As of 2011 little had been done to restore infrastructure or rebuild the economy. The town is served by Pweto Airport
Pweto Airport
Pweto Airport is a airstrip serving Pweto, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It lies an an altitude of to the west of the main town....
.
Location
Pweto lies at the north end of Lake MweruLake Mweru
Lake Mweru is a freshwater lake on the longest arm of Africa's second-longest river, the Congo. Located on the border between Zambia and Democratic Republic of the Congo, it makes up 110 km of the total length of the Congo, lying between its Luapula River and Luvua River segments.Mweru...
on the border with Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
.
The Luvua River
Luvua River
The Luvua River is a river in the Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo . It flows from the northern end of Lake Mweru on the Zambia-Congo border in a northwesterly direction for to its confluence with the Lualaba River opposite the town of Ankoro...
, a headstream of the Congo River
Congo River
The Congo River is a river in Africa, and is the deepest river in the world, with measured depths in excess of . It is the second largest river in the world by volume of water discharged, though it has only one-fifth the volume of the world's largest river, the Amazon...
, leaves the lake just west of Pwetu to flow north to its confluence with the Lualaba River
Lualaba River
The Lualaba River is the greatest headstream of the Congo River by volume of water. However, by length the Chambeshi River is the farthest headstream. The Lualaba is 1800 km long, running from near Musofi in the vicinity of Lubumbashi in Katanga Province. The whole of its length lies within the...
opposite the town of Ankoro
Ankoro
Ankoro is a town in Haut-Katanga District, Democratic Republic of the Congo.It lies on the west bank of the Lualaba River opposite the point where it is joined by the Luvua River.-Civil war:...
. Where the Luvua exits the lake it runs through a series of violent rapids, falling several meters from the lake level.
The Mitumba mountains
Mitumba Mountains
The Mitumba Mountain range stretches along the Western Rift Valley in Burundi and Eastern Congo , west of lake Tanganyika. The two main peaks, Mount Kahuzi and Mount Biéga are extinct volcanoes.-References:...
rise to the west, forming a giant barrier between the lake and the Congo Basin broken by the Luvua valley.
A fertile plain stretches to the north and east.
Rainfall over the lake averages around 1080 millimetres (42.5 in) annually, with the most rain in December.
The average annual temperature is around 23 °C (73.4 °F). October is the warmest month with daily maximums up to 34 °C (93.2 °F), while July is the coolest with mean temperature of 20 °C (68 °F).
The lake has abundant and diverse fish, the most important economically being Oreochromis macrochir
Oreochromis macrochir
Oreochromis macrochir is a species of fish in the Cichlidae family.The species is native to the Zambezi Basin, and is also found in Lake Mweru and Lake Bangweulu....
, and fishing is an important part of the economy.
The local people also practice small-scale agriculture, growing cassava, millet, maize, groundnuts and sweet potatoes.
The Belgian and British colonial governments agreed that the border between the Belgian Congo
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo between King Leopold II's formal relinquishment of his personal control over the state to Belgium on 15 November 1908, and Congolese independence on 30 June 1960.-Congo Free State, 1884–1908:Until the latter...
and Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia was a territory in south central Africa, formed in 1911. It became independent in 1964 as Zambia.It was initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by amalgamating North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia...
(now Zambia), ran from the point where the Luvua leaves the lake in a straight line running eastward to a point on the shore of Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika is an African Great Lake. It is estimated to be the second largest freshwater lake in the world by volume, and the second deepest, after Lake Baikal in Siberia; it is also the world's longest freshwater lake...
. This has the effect of technically placing the shoreline of the town in Zambian territory.
Second Congo War
The Battle of Pweto in December 2000 was one of the major engagements of the Second Congo WarSecond Congo War
The Second Congo War, also known as Coltan War and the Great War of Africa, began in August 1998 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo , and officially ended in July 2003 when the Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo took power; however, hostilities continue to this...
(1998-2003).
It followed an offensive in northeastern Katanga by DRC government troops with Interahamwe
Interahamwe
The Interahamwe is a Hutu paramilitary organization. The militia enjoyed the backing of the Hutu-led government leading up to, during, and after the Rwandan Genocide. Since the genocide, they have been forced out of Rwanda, and have sought asylum in Congo...
fighters and former Rwandan army troops now fighting for the DRC government. They were assisted by Burundi FDD, local Mayi Mayi militias and Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
n and Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
an troops. They captured positions held by the Congolese Rally for Democracy-Goma (RCD-Goma), such as Pepa
Pepa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Pepa is a community in the northeast of the Tanganyika District of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located 167 kilometres northeast by road from Pweto, to the west of Lake Tanganyika.-Location:...
, and attacked Moba port on Lake Tanganyika. The Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
n government protested against this violation of the cease fire agreement. The RCD-Goma and Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) forces counter-attacked early in December 2000.
The population of Pweto had tripled due to civilians fleeing from fighting elsewhere in Katanga, overwhelming health care facilities. Since the start of 2000 there had been 1,800 cases of cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
, with 150 deaths from the disease.
Rwandan forces advancing from the north attacked the town, and the government forces suffered a crushing defeat.
The government leaders included General John Numbi
John Numbi
Major General John Numbi is, , the Inspector General of the National Police of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.- History :Numbi is of the same Lubakat group as former President Laurent-Désiré Kabila and was part of the gendarme in Katanga...
and the young General Joseph Kabila
Joseph Kabila
Joseph Kabila Kabange is a Congolese politician who has been President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since January 2001. He took office ten days after the assassination of his father, President Laurent-Désiré Kabila...
, soon to become President
President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo , is Congo's elected Head of State, and the ex officio "Supreme Commander" of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ....
, who escaped by air. The defeat potentially opened the way for an advance on the major city of Lubumbashi
Lubumbashi
Lubumbashi is the second largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, second only to the nation's capital Kinshasa, and the hub of the southeastern part of the country. The copper-mining city serves as the capital of the relatively prosperous Katanga Province, lying near the Zambian border...
to the south.
The Rwandans were able to seize a large weapons stockpile.
Some 3,000 government soldiers escaped across the border into Zambia, as well as 60,000 civilians.
The fall of Pweto led to the assassination of President Laurent-Désiré Kabila
Laurent-Désiré Kabila
Laurent-Désiré Kabila was President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from May 17, 1997, when he overthrew Mobutu Sese Seko, until his assassination by his bodyguards on January 18, 2001...
by his bodyguards, on 18 January 2001, and to a complete shift in the political situation on both sides.
The Rwandans chose not to pursue the Congolese forces into Zambia since President Paul Kagame
Paul Kagame
Paul Kagame is the sixth and current President of the Republic of Rwanda. He rose to prominence as the leader of the Rwandan Patriotic Front , whose victory over the incumbent government in July 1994 effectively ended the Rwandan genocide...
was concerned about further alienating international supporters. He was given a cold reception when he visited Washington.
In February 2001 the Rwandan Patriotic Army started to withdraw from Pweto. The Rwandan Chief of Operations, Colonel Karaka Karenze
Karaka Karenze
Colonel Karaka Karenze was head of operations for the Rwandan army as of 2001. He led the army in the Pweto mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in which he pulled some 3,000 of troops out of in February 2001...
, said about 3,000 Rwandans were leaving Pweto.
He said "This is generally in support of the peace process, but is also a goodwill gesture which we hope will bring an appropriate response from the government in Kinshasa".
During the wind-down of the Second Congo War
Second Congo War
The Second Congo War, also known as Coltan War and the Great War of Africa, began in August 1998 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo , and officially ended in July 2003 when the Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo took power; however, hostilities continue to this...
, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1399
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1399
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1399, adopted unanimously on March 19, 2002, after recalling all previous resolutions on situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Council condemned the capture of the town of Moliro and other activities by the rebel Rally for Congolese...
was adopted unanimously on March 19, 2002. Stressing that no party would be allowed to make military gains during the peace process, the UN demanded that the RCD-Goma immediately withdraw from Moliro
Moliro
Moliro is a community in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo beside Lake Tanganyika on the border with Zambia.It is in Katanga Province....
and Pweto and for all other parties to withdraw to defensive positions called for in the Harare disengagement sub-plans.
On 21 June 2002, child soldiers of the pro-government Mai Mai militia entered the town, and RDC officials hastily left.
Later that month the Rwandan-backed RDC-Goma forces again took control of Pweto, threatening the peace agreement under which Pweto was declared a demilitarized zone.
Pweto today
Pweto is the largest town between Moliro on the shore of Lake Tanganyika and the Katangan provincial capital Lubumbashi.As of 2010 the population of Pweto was estimated at 24,767.
Although the civil war ended in 2003, the region has been severely damaged by the civil war and reconstruction has been slow.
Basic government services are still not available, public infrastructure is in poor condition and the local economy is scarcely functional. Corruption and lack of confidence in stability are handicaps to investment.
In June 2011 a fight broke out between militants of the People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy
People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy
The People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy is a center-left political party of the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
(PPRD) and those of Congolese Solidarity for Democracy and Development over participation in the June 30 parade.
In September 2011 MONUSCO, the United Nations peacekeeping force, reopened a representative office in Pweto.
The hope was that this would guarantee security during the forthcoming elections.
In July 2011, an Australian mining company announced that a feasibility study for an open cut copper mine at nearby Kapulo
Kapulo
Kapulo is a village in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the location of a cassiterite mine and of a planned copper mine.In 2007 one of the two remaining full FARDC brigades in Katanga was stationed in Pweto Territory. This brigade, the 62nd, was illegally exploiting the Cassiterite mine in...
had given positive results. The find was valued at $141 million. The company said they were upgrading the road from Pweto to improve access to the Pweto airstrip
Pweto Airport
Pweto Airport is a airstrip serving Pweto, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It lies an an altitude of to the west of the main town....
, which is 45 minutes by road away from the mine, and planned to start production in November 2012.