Rukwanzi Island is a disputed island

Island

An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...

 in the southern portion of Lake Albert in Central Africa

Central Africa

Central Africa is a core region of the African continent which includes Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda....

. It is home to approximately 1000 fishermen.

Ownership dispute

Rukwanzi is the subject of an ownership dispute between 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...

 and Uganda

Uganda

Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

, which are situated on opposite sides of the lake. In late July, Congo apprehended four Ugandan soldiers it said had crossed the dividing line in the lake, and on August 3, 2007, the countries' militaries engaged in a skirmish near the island, with one Briton and one Congolese killed. On August 12, 2007, Congo occupied the island.