127-526: North Kivu ( Jimbo la Kivu Kaskazini in Swahili ) is a province bordering Lake Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo . The capital city is Goma . Spanning approximately 59,483 square kilometers with a population estimate of 8,147,400 as of 2020, it is bordered by Ituri Province to the north, Tshopo Province to the northwest, Maniema Province to the southwest, and South Kivu Province to
254-511: A "war effort tax", which escalated alongside coltan prices. RCD-Goma also held a controlling 75% interest in the Société Minière des Grands Lacs (SOMIGL), which held a temporary monopoly on coltan exports, generating immediate revenue surges. In December 2000, the 112 tonnes of exported coltan brought in over $ 1.1 million in taxes; however, none of these funds were allocated toward public services like healthcare or education. The monopoly
381-565: A 'little bit' of some characteristic, like -y or -ish in English). For example, there is kijani "green", from jani "leaf" (compare English 'leafy'), kichaka "bush" from chaka "clump", and kivuli "shadow" from uvuli "shade". A 'little bit' of a verb would be an instance of an action, and such instantiations (usually not very active ones) are found: kifo "death", from the verb -fa "to die"; kiota "nest" from -ota "to brood"; chakula "food" from kula "to eat"; kivuko "a ford,
508-768: A Monkey ;" " Mwalimu Goso, " "Goso the Teacher," a cumulative tale ; and " Sungura na Simba, " "The Hare and the Lion," a story about the trickster hare . Here are some of the proverbs that Steere recorded in Swahili: Here are some of the riddles that Steere recorded in Swahili: Lake Edward Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include
635-536: A Territorial Administrator supported by two Assistant Territorial Administrators, who facilitate the effective governance of vast regions, often remote or rural. Appointed by the Ministry of the Interior and Security , territorial officials are part of the state's official budget. They are responsible for implementing state policies at the local level, under the oversight of the provincial governor , who serves as both
762-752: A bridge over the Osso River. On 25 February 2003, RCD-Goma forces orchestrated a massacre in Bushimoo and Kailenge, killing at least 44 civilians. The attack was deceitfully executed under the guise of a community meeting meant to introduce a new village leader—an ex-Mayi-Mayi who had defected to RCD-Goma. The atrocities extended into the Walikale region. In April 2003, RCD-Goma forces killed five civilians and tortured two women near Kabusa, approximately ten kilometers from Walikale. In June 2003, seven inhabitants of Lukweti were executed with bayonets, and their village
889-467: A brutal regime, characterized by arbitrary detention, torture, and summary executions . Civilians were often confined in inhumane conditions, including detention in muddy pits several meters deep. North of Kanyabayonga , the FDLR targeted civilians across several villages, including Kayna, Mayene, Nyamindo, Kisandja, and Kiteka. The attacks often involved killings, harassment, and forced displacement. During
1016-479: A child and an employee of the international NGO Save the Children , were killed in the village of Karuba. In November 1996, Walikale Territory became a critical transit point and deadly trap for Rwandan refugees fleeing the advancing AFDL and RPA. Refugees arrived in the area via three routes: one from Bukavu through Bunyakiri ; another through the dense forests of Kahuzi-Biéga National Park and Nyabibwe; and
1143-685: A focal point for intense military operations and humanitarian crises . The war marked the beginning of a campaign by the newly formed Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (AFDL), led by Laurent-Désiré Kabila , and the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA), under Paul Kagame , to depose Mobutu Sese Seko 's regime in Zaire (present-day DRC). While the AFDL and RPA justified their incursion by accusing Mobutu of marginalizing
1270-791: A historical process in which /l/ became elided between the second last and last vowels of a word (for example, kondoo , "sheep" was originally kondolo , which survives in certain dialects ). As a consequence, long vowels are not considered phonemic . A similar process exists in Zulu . Where not shown, the orthography is the same as IPA. Some dialects of Swahili may also have the aspirated phonemes /pʰ tʰ tʃʰ kʰ bʱ dʱ dʒʱ ɡʱ/ though they are unmarked in Swahili's orthography. Multiple studies favour classifying prenasalization as consonant clusters, not as separate phonemes. Historically, nasalization has been lost before voiceless consonants, and subsequently
1397-480: A locality between Hombo and Walikale. Hundreds of refugees were executed as part of a broader system of targeted extermination. A similar system was implemented in Itebero, where special units systematically hunted down refugees throughout December 1996. In Mutiko locality, refugees intercepted at checkpoints were transported to Mukito village under the pretense of being prepared for UNHCR-assisted repatriation. However,
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#17327724459511524-573: A major role in spreading both Christianity and Islam in East Africa . From their arrival in East Africa, Arabs brought Islam and set up madrasas , where they used Swahili to teach Islam to the natives. As the Arab presence grew, more and more natives converted to Islam and were taught using the Swahili language. From the arrival of Europeans in East Africa, Christianity was introduced to
1651-578: A makeshift camp at Rukwi, killing an indeterminate number of refugees in a protracted series of raids that spanned weeks and months. In late November, atrocities were reported in Miandja, where AFDL/RPA units killed approximately 50 civilians, including 40 Rwandan refugees and 10 local Hutu Banyarwanda . Refugees who had established settlements at Karunda in Kirumbu village and on the Nyabura plantation in
1778-578: A means of national integration in Tanzania. Key activities mandated for the organisation include creating a healthy atmosphere for the development of Swahili, encouraging use of the language in government and business functions, coordinating activities of other organisations involved with Swahili, standardising the language. BAKITA vision are: "1.To efficiently manage and coordinate the development and use of Kiswahili in Tanzania 2.To participate fully and effectively in promoting Swahili in East Africa, Africa and
1905-652: A pass" from -vuka "to cross"; and kilimia "the Pleiades ", from -limia "to farm with", from its role in guiding planting. A resemblance, or being a bit like something, implies marginal status in a category, so things that are marginal examples of their class may take the ki-/vi- prefixes. One example is chura ( ki-ura ) "frog", which is only half terrestrial and therefore is marginal as an animal. This extension may account for disabilities as well: kilema "a cripple", kipofu "a blind person", kiziwi "a deaf person". Finally, diminutives often denote contempt, and contempt
2032-433: A prenasalized consonant, they are pronounced as [e] , [ɪ] , [o] , and [ʊ] . E is also commonly pronounced as mid-position after w . Polomé claims that /ɑ/ is pronounced as such only after w and is pronounced as [a] in other situations, especially after /j/ ( y ). A can be pronounced as [ə] in word-final position. Long vowels in Swahili are written as doubled vowels (for example, kondoo , "sheep") due to
2159-568: A rich fish population, forming a vital economic resource for surrounding communities. Lake Kivu, the highest lake in Central Africa , sits at an elevation of 1,460 meters, with a Congolese surface area of 2,700 square kilometers and an average depth of 285 meters. However, its fish diversity is relatively limited compared to Lake Edward. Additionally, the Mokotos Lakes—Ndalaha, Lukulu, Mbalukia, and Mbila—occupy 86 square kilometers in
2286-468: A second language spoken by tens of millions of people in the five African Great Lakes countries ( Kenya , DRC , Rwanda , Uganda , and Tanzania ), where it is an official or national language. It is also the first language for many people in Tanzania, especially in the coastal regions of Tanga, Pwani, Dar es Salaam, Mtwara and Lindi. In the inner regions of Tanzania, Swahili is spoken with an accent influenced by other local languages and dialects. There, it
2413-545: A share of profits in exchange for their protection. Although some coltan passed through local trading houses, the majority was flown directly to Rwanda, bypassing the DRC's export system. Rwandan military officers and entrepreneurs linked to the government were prominently represented as directors and stakeholders in key trading houses in Goma and Bukavu, such as Grands Lacs Metals and Rwanda Metals. These trading houses collaborated with
2540-473: A significant number of loanwords from other languages, mainly Arabic , as well as from Portuguese , English and German . Around 40% of Swahili vocabulary consists of Arabic loanwords, including the name of the language ( سَوَاحِلي sawāḥilī , a plural adjectival form of an Arabic word meaning 'of the coasts'). The loanwords date from the era of contact between Arab traders and the Bantu inhabitants of
2667-462: A substitute for k in advertisements. There are also several digraphs for Arabic sounds, which many speakers outside of ethnic Swahili areas have trouble differentiating. The language used to be primarily written in the Ajami script , which is an Arabic script. Much literature was produced in this script. With the introduction of Latin, the use of Ajami script has been diminished significantly. However,
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#17327724459512794-516: A system of concord but, if the noun refers to a human, they accord with noun classes 1–2 regardless of their noun class. Verbs agree with the noun class of their subjects and objects; adjectives, prepositions and demonstratives agree with the noun class of their nouns. In Standard Swahili (Kiswahili sanifu) , based on the dialect spoken in Zanzibar, the system is rather complex; however, it is drastically simplified in many local variants where Swahili
2921-564: A third from North Kivu, passing through southern Masisi Territory and the towns of Busurungi and Biriko. While armed men in these groups often managed to escape, the slowest refugees—mainly women, children, and the elderly—became the primary targets of the AFDL/RPA's systematic attacks. On 9 December 1996, the AFDL/RPA forces unleashed one of their deadliest massacres at the Hombo Bridge, where they shot dead several hundred refugees. Many of
3048-695: A variety of gender-concord prefixes. This list is based on Swahili and Sabaki: a linguistic history . Modern standard Swahili, written in Latin, is based on Kiunguja, the dialect spoken in Zanzibar City . Swahili literature and poetry, traditionally written in Swahili Ajami , is based on Kiamu , the dialect of Lamu on the Kenyan Coast. But there are numerous other dialects of Swahili, some of which are mutually unintelligible, such as
3175-562: Is a Bantu language of the Sabaki branch . In Guthrie's geographic classification , Swahili is in Bantu zone G, whereas the other Sabaki languages are in zone E70, commonly under the name Nyika. Historical linguists consider the Arabic influence on Swahili to be significant, since it takes around 15% of its vocabulary directly from Arabic , and was initially spread by Arab slave traders along
3302-666: Is a compulsory subject in all Kenyan primary and secondary schools. Swahili is recognized as a national language in the Democratic Republic of The Congo and is widely spoken in the eastern regions. The local dialects of Swahili in Congo are known as Congo Swahili and differ considerably from Standard Swahili. In order to strengthen political ties with other East African Community nations, both Kiswahili and English have been taught in Burundian elementary schools since
3429-550: Is a first language for most of the people who are born in the cities, whilst being spoken as a second language in rural areas. Swahili and closely related languages are spoken by relatively small numbers of people in Burundi , Comoros , Malawi , Mozambique , Zambia and Rwanda . The language was still understood in the southern ports of the Red Sea in the 20th century. The East African Community created an institution called
3556-434: Is an active body part, and mto is an active natural force, but they are also both long and thin. Things with a trajectory, such as mpaka 'border' and mwendo 'journey', are classified with long thin things, as in many other languages with noun classes. This may be further extended to anything dealing with time, such as mwaka 'year' and perhaps mshahara 'wages'. Animals exceptional in some way and so not easily fitting in
3683-473: Is closely related to Swahili and is sometimes considered a dialect of Swahili, although other authorities consider it a distinct language. In 2022, based on Swahili's growth as a prominent international language, the United Nations declared Swahili Language Day as 7 July to commemorate the date that Julius Nyerere adopted Swahili as a unifying language for African independence struggles. Swahili
3810-597: Is generally only spoken by Somali nationals who have resided in Kenya and subsequently returned to Somalia. Lastly, a closely related language Mushunguli (also known as Zigula, Zigua, or Chizigua) is spoken by some of the Somali Bantu ethnic minority mostly living in the Jubba Valley . It is classified as a Northeast Coast Bantu language as Swahili is and has some intelligibility with Swahili. Swahili played
3937-496: Is greatly influenced by altitude. Temperatures decrease with elevation: areas below 1,000 meters average 23°C, while those at 2,000 meters average 15°C. Rainfall varies from 1,000 to 2,000 millimeters annually, with drier periods in January-February and July-August. The region experiences four distinct seasons: two wet seasons (mid-August to mid-January, mid-February to mid-July) and two short dry seasons. According to
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4064-654: Is home to the Rwenzori Mountains , part of the Albertine Rift , which serves as a key freshwater source and supports a diverse ecosystem . North Kivu also hosts Virunga National Park , a UNESCO World Heritage Site home to endangered mountain gorillas . Demographically, North Kivu is ethnically diverse, predominantly inhabited by Bantu -speaking people, including the Nande, Mbuba, Hunde , Lese, Talinga, Hutu , Tutsi , and Batwa ( pygmies ). However,
4191-575: Is not a native language, such as in Nairobi. In non-native Swahili, concord reflects only animacy: human subjects and objects trigger a-, wa- and m-, wa- in verbal concord, while non-human subjects and objects of whatever class trigger i-, zi- . Infinitives vary between standard ku- and reduced i-. ("Of" is animate wa and inanimate ya, za. ) In Standard Swahili, human subjects and objects of whatever class trigger animacy concord in a-, wa- and m-, wa-, and non-human subjects and objects trigger
4318-430: Is one of the early developers. The applications include a spelling checker , part-of-speech tagging , a language learning software , an analysed Swahili text corpus of 25 million words, an electronic dictionary , and machine translation between Swahili and English. The development of language technology also strengthens the position of Swahili as a modern medium of communication. Furthermore, Swahili Misplaced Pages
4445-556: Is one of the few Wikipedias in an African language that features a substantial number of contributors and articles. The widespread use of Swahili as a national language in Tanzania came after Tanganyika gained independence in 1961 and the government decided that it would be used as a language to unify the new nation. This saw the use of Swahili in all levels of government, trade, art as well as schools in which primary school children are taught in Swahili, before switching to English (medium of instruction) in secondary schools (although Swahili
4572-600: Is organized into chiefdoms , known as collectivités , and sectors . These entities represent traditional forms of authority, where leadership is often determined by ethnic customs and later formalized by the state. The head of a chiefdom holds the title "mwami" (paramount customary chief). Chiefdoms and sectors are divided into groupements , which further subdivide into villages. Village heads and chiefs manage governance within these smaller divisions. Some notable chiefdoms and sectors in North Kivu include: The frontiers of
4699-960: Is sometimes expressed against things that are dangerous. This might be the historical explanation for kifaru " rhinoceros ", kingugwa " spotted hyena ", and kiboko " hippopotamus " (perhaps originally meaning "stubby legs"). Another class with broad semantic extension is the m-/mi- class (Bantu classes 3/4). This is often called the 'tree' class, because mti, miti "tree(s)" is the prototypical example. However, it seems to cover vital entities neither human nor typical animals: trees and other plants, such as mwitu 'forest' and mtama 'millet' (and from there, things made from plants, like mkeka 'mat'); supernatural and natural forces, such as mwezi 'moon', mlima 'mountain', mto 'river'; active things, such as moto 'fire', including active body parts ( moyo 'heart', mkono 'hand, arm'); and human groups, which are vital but not themselves human, such as mji 'village', and, by analogy, mzinga 'beehive/cannon'. From
4826-567: Is spoken along the Benadir coast by the Bravanese people . Another Swahili dialect known as Kibajuni also serves as the mother tongue of the Bajuni minority ethnic group, which lives in the tiny Bajuni Islands as well as the southern Kismayo region. In Oman , there are an estimated 52,000 people who speak Swahili as of 2020. Most are descendants of those repatriated after the fall of
4953-582: Is still taught as an independent subject). After Tanganyika and Zanzibar unification in 1964, Taasisi ya Uchunguzi wa Kiswahili (TUKI, Institute of Swahili Research) was created from the Interterritorial Language Committee. In 1970 TUKI was merged with the University of Dar es Salaam , while Baraza la Kiswahili la Taifa (BAKITA) was formed. BAKITA is an organisation dedicated to the development and advocacy of Swahili as
5080-718: Is the lingua franca of other areas in the African Great Lakes region and East and Southern Africa . Swahili is also one of the working languages of the African Union and of the Southern African Development Community . The East African Community created an institution called the East African Kiswahili Commission (EAKC) which began operations in 2015. The institution currently serves as
5207-742: The AFDL . By late 1997, tensions mounted as Kabila faced allegations of marginalizing Tutsi factions in his government and favoring his Katangan affiliates. Other reports suggested that the United States provided military assistance to Rwanda in the lead-up to the war, ostensibly motivated by access to Congo's vast natural resources. A U.S. Army Rwanda Interagency Assessment Team (RIAT) was deployed to Rwanda in July 1998 to train Rwandan units. The presence of U.S. forces sparked controversy, as it coincided with
North Kivu - Misplaced Pages Continue
5334-684: The ALiR ( Armée pour la Libération du Rwanda ) also attacked civilians in Walikale Territory and Masisi Territory. In January 2000, ALiR forces killed approximately 100 civilians in the village of Luke, Walikale Territory, accusing them of collaborating with RCD-Goma and RPA forces. Most of the victims were killed with machetes or shot . On 9 July 2000, ALiR attacked a displaced persons' camp in Sake , killing 34–42 civilians, mostly women and children of Hunde and Tembo ethnicity. On 7 August 1998,
5461-556: The Bashali Chiefdom . The provincial river system includes the Rutshuru , Rwindi, Semliki, Osso, and Lowa rivers. Volcanic soils , derived from recent lava flows, dominate areas near active volcanoes; these soils, while fertile in older flows, are less suitable for agriculture in recent deposits. Between Goma and Rutshuru, volcanic soils are fertile yet shallow, conducive to agriculture. Alluvial soils are common in
5588-704: The Congo Free State were defined by the Neutrality Act during the 1885 Berlin Conference , in which the European powers staked out their territorial claims in Africa. The Congo Free State's northeastern boundary was defined in 1885 as "a straight line coming from the northern end of Lake Tanganyika and ending at a point located on the 30th east meridian and at 1° 20' south latitude; further north,
5715-531: The DRC Mapping Exercise Report , many of the victims' hands were bound, and bodies were often discovered in public pit latrines . By 1 November 1996, all refugee camps between Goma and Rutshuru had been dismantled. The Kibumba camp's survivors moved toward Mugunga, while those from Kahindo and Katale were scattered into the dense forests of Virunga National Park . Attempting to evade interception by AFDL/RPA forces, refugees wandered through
5842-576: The East African coast. The word `Swahili' comes from an Arabic name for the area, meaning "coasts": The core of the Swahili language originates in Bantu languages of the coast of East Africa. Much of Swahili's Bantu vocabulary has cognates in the Unguja , Pemba , and Mijikenda languages and, to a lesser extent, other East African Bantu languages . While opinions vary on the specifics, it has been historically purported that around 16–20% of
5969-833: The Lowa River . Victims were killed either by gunfire or by brutal methods involving hammers and hoes . Deceptively lured with promises of UNHCR assistance for repatriation, most of the victims' bodies were discarded in the Lowa River. By mid-December 1996, AFDL/RPA forces advanced on the makeshift camps in Biriko, located in the Walowa-Luanda groupement . Refugees here were surrounded by soldiers from Ziralo and Bunyakiri in South Kivu and Ngungu in North Kivu. Hundreds of refugees, including women and children, were killed in
6096-1012: The Masisi Territory became a critical theater of pursuit and systematic violence as the AFDL and RPA advanced in their campaign. Their primary targets were refugees—mainly Rwandans—and ex-FAR/Interahamwe combatants fleeing westward towards Walikale. These columns of escapees, slowed by exhaustion and the harsh terrain, established temporary camps in villages across Masisi Territory, including Osso, Kinigi, Katoyi, Kilolirwe, Ngandjo, Nyamitaba, Miandja, Nyaruba, Kirumbu, and Kahira. Survivors from decimated camps such as Mugunga, Kibumba, Kahindo, and Katale were disproportionately represented among these disparate groups. The assault on refugees and Internally displaced persons escalated on 19 November 1996, when Mayi-Mayi fighters aligned with AFDL/RPA forces attacked Ngungu village. Backed by artillery , they indiscriminately slaughtered an estimated several hundred refugees and ex-FAR/Interahamwe combatants. Reports from
6223-760: The Ruwenzori Mountains , also committed widespread atrocities in Beni. In 2000, ADF-NALU forces kidnapped, enslaved, and killed hundreds of civilians. In January, they abducted over 100 people in Mutwanga, and in April, they attacked surrounding villages, forcibly recruiting children and enslaving women. Many victims endured malnutrition , physical abuse , and execution during captivity, with some forced to carry looted property over long distances. In November 2002, RCD-Goma launched an assault on Bushimoo village in
6350-473: The Sabaki language . In fact, while taking account of daily vocabulary, using lists of one hundred words, 72–91% were inherited from the Sabaki language (which is reported as a parent language) whereas 4–17% were loan words from other African languages. Only 2–8% were from non-African languages, and Arabic loan words constituted a fraction of that. According to other sources, around 40% of the Swahili vocabulary comes from Arabic. What also remained unconsidered
6477-532: The Sultanate of Zanzibar . There are Swahili-based slangs, pidgins and creoles: In 1870, Edward Steere published Swahili Tales as Told by Natives of Zanzibar , a collection of 23 Swahili tales with facing-text English translation, along with a selection of proverbs and riddles. Some of the tales included are: " Kisa cha Punda wa Dobi, " "The Story of the Washerman's Donkey," also known as " The Heart of
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#17327724459516604-438: The Tanganyika African National Union used Swahili as a language of mass organisation and political movement. This included publishing pamphlets and radio broadcasts to rally the people to fight for independence. After gaining independence, Swahili was adopted as the national language. To this day, Tanzanians carry a sense of pride when it comes to Swahili, especially when it is used to unite over 120 tribes across Tanzania. Swahili
6731-598: The Tutsi population and harboring perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan genocide , alternate reports, including those from the United Nations Security Council , implicated both factions in the systematic looting of Zaire 's mineral wealth and perpetrating massacres throughout the conflict. At the onset, North Kivu hosted a significant population of Rwandan refugees, estimated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to number 717,991 in October 1996. Refugee camps , including Kibumba (194,986), Katale (202,566), and Kahindo (112,875), were strategically situated along
6858-583: The Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF) took control of Beni without opposition. However, this occupation provoked substantial local resistance, with youth in Beni and Lubero joining the Mayi-Mayi groups. Strengthened by financial and military support from the Kinshasa government, the Mayi-Mayi launched attacks on UPDF convoys and engaged in violent confrontations with Ugandan forces. These clashes were further compounded by internal rivalries within Mayi-Mayi factions, notably between Chief Lolwako Poko Poko's Vurondo Mayi-Mayi and Chief Mudohu's forces. Efforts by
6985-444: The Zairean Red Cross documented the mass burials of victims to prevent outbreaks of epidemics. From 2–30 November, 2,087 bodies were buried in and around the Kibumba camp. Between 30 November 1996, and 26 January 1997, an additional 1,919 bodies were buried in the same area. At Kahindo Camp, 281 bodies were buried between 1–25 December 1996. At Katale Camp, 970 bodies were buried between 1 December 1996, and 18 January 1997. According to
7112-720: The alluvial plains of Semliki and Rwindi - Rutshuru , stretching from Lake Edward 's northern to southern shores. The steep Kabasha escarpment rises from Lake Edward's western bank, extending toward the Rwindi-Rutshuru plain, which is flanked by the massive Ruwenzori range (5,119 meters) to the east. Further south, the plain merges into volcanic lava fields leading to the Virunga Mountains , with prominent active volcanoes Nyamulagira (3,056 meters) and Nyiragongo (3,470 meters). The province features two major lakes: Lake Edward and Lake Kivu . Lake Edward, covering 2,150 square kilometers with 1,630 square kilometers in Congolese territory, reaches an average depth of 30 meters. It supports
7239-407: The execution of civilians . Detainees were often held in inhumane conditions, such as being confined in deep holes exposed to the elements. Protests against these abuses were met with lethal force, such as in March 2000, when UPDF soldiers killed four civilians during a demonstration in Beni. The Allied Democratic Forces–National Army for the Liberation of Uganda (ADF-NALU), an armed group based in
7366-420: The AFDL, while also issuing an order for the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) soldiers to withdraw from Congolese territory. These actions provoked Rwanda and Uganda to support a new rebellion aimed at removing Kabila from power. On 2 August 1998, a mutiny within the Congolese military, the Forces Armées Congolaises (FAC), was announced on Radio-Télévision Nationale Congolaise (RTNC) in Goma . The mutiny led to
7493-420: The Arabic script (an unmodified version as opposed to proposals such as that of Mwalimu Sikujua) was relatively high. There were also differences in orthographic conventions between cities and authors and over the centuries, some quite precise but others different enough to cause difficulties with intelligibility. Thus despite a lack of official governmental backing, attempts at standardization and Swahilization of
7620-482: The Arabic script continued into the 20th century. Swahili nouns are separable into classes , which are roughly analogous to genders in other languages. In Swahili, prefixes mark groups of similar objects: ⟨m-⟩ marks single human beings ( mtoto 'child'), ⟨wa-⟩ marks multiple humans ( watoto 'children'), ⟨u-⟩ marks abstract nouns ( utoto 'childhood'), and so on. And just as adjectives and pronouns must agree with
7747-405: The Arabic script that were sent to the Portuguese of Mozambique and their local allies. The original letters are preserved in the Historical Archives of Goa, India . Various colonial powers that ruled on the coast of East Africa played a role in the growth and spread of Swahili. With the arrival of the Arabs in East Africa, they used Swahili as a language of trade as well as for teaching Islam to
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#17327724459517874-419: The Bashali-Mokoto groupement faced a similar fate. In April 1997, AFDL/RPA forces attacked a school in the village of Humule, near Karuba—roughly fifty kilometers from Goma—killing 53 refugees. Further violence followed in May 1997 when AFDL/RPA units intercepted a group of refugees heading to the Karuba UNHCR transit center, where they hoped to facilitate their return to Rwanda. On 29 May, four people, including
8001-688: The Bashali-Mokoto groupement , killing an unverified number of people from the Hunde ethnic group. During the same period, Mayi-Mayi forces under Hunde's leadership retaliated by torching multiple Nyanga villages in the same region, resulting in further casualties and displacement. The cycle of violence intensified in January 2003, as RCD-Goma forces conducted coordinated attacks on the villages of Bushimoo, Kauli, and Binyungunyungu. Over three days (21–23 January), RCD-Goma troops indiscriminately killed civilians, set villages ablaze, and committed acts of sexual violence. A particularly egregious attack occurred on 22 January when approximately 15 civilians were executed on
8128-497: The Belgians occupied the post. After a series of incidents, the boundaries of the Congo, Uganda and Rwanda were settled in May 1910, with the eastern part of Kivu assigned to Uganda and the German colony of Rwanda. Kivu District was created by an arrêté royal of 28 March 1912, which divided the Congo into 22 districts. By 1954, Kivu District had been split into Sud-Kivu District and Nord-Kivu District . The First Congo War , which began in mid-October 1996, saw North Kivu become
8255-475: The Biriko camps through shootings or by being bludgeoned with hoes. Locals were forced to bury some of the victims, while others were discarded in the Nyawaranga River. The violence then spread to nearby villages, including Kilambo, Busurungi, Nyamimba, and Kifuruka. In Kifuruka, located 10 kilometers from Biriko, several hundred refugees were reportedly killed in December 1996. During the third week of December 1996, AFDL/RPA units committed mass killings in Musenge,
8382-427: The East African Kiswahili Commission (EAKC) which began operations in 2015. The institution currently serves as the leading body for promoting the language in the East African region , as well as for coordinating its development and usage for regional integration and sustainable development. Swahili is among the first languages in Africa for which language technology applications have been developed. Arvi Hurskainen
8509-605: The FAC in May 1999 targeted Goma neighborhoods, including Mukosasenge in Karisimbi , resulting in civilian casualties. Around 8 August 1999, RCD-Goma and RPA killed at least 17 civilians in the village of Otobora in Walikale Territory , many of whom were displaced persons from the neighboring village of Hombo. On 12 August 1999, RCD-Goma and RPA killed 44 civilians in the village of Miano in Masisi Territory , predominantly women and children of Tembo ethnicity. Victims were targeted based on their ethnic origin. Around 23 November 1999, RCD-Goma and RPA killed an unknown number of civilians in
8636-535: The Köppen-Geiger classification, North Kivu has a warm oceanic climate , with an annual average temperature of 18°C and average precipitation of 363.6 millimeters. Approximate correspondence between historical and current province North Kivu Province is systematically organized into a hierarchy of administrative divisions, which include territories , cities , chiefdoms ( collectivités ), sectors , groupements (groupings), and villages ( localités ). North Kivu comprises six territories. These territories are led by
8763-426: The Mutura border, according to UNHCR records. However, this exodus was perilous, with numerous reports of intimidation, coercion, and outright killings by AFDL/RPA soldiers targeting those seeking assistance. The scale of the violence against refugees became evident through reports from local organizations. NGOs such as the Équipe d'urgence de la biodiversité (EUB), the Association des Volontaires du Zaïre (ASVOZA), and
8890-418: The President's and Ministry's representative within the province. The territories in North Kivu include: The province consists of three cities— Goma , Butembo , and Beni . Each city is a decentralized administrative entity with official legal status and is led by a mayor appointed by a presidential decree on the advice of the Minister of the Interior and Security. The traditional governance of North Kivu
9017-937: The RCD-ML (Rally for Congolese Democracy–Liberation Movement) to incorporate these groups into its armed wing, the Armée Patriotique Congolaise (APC), failed, leading to intensified violence. In August 2000, confrontations between Vurondo Mayi-Mayi fighters and APC/UPDF troops in Lubero resulted in dozens of deaths, including civilians. Reports indicate that 17 civilians were killed, and seven Mayi-Mayi prisoners were summarily executed. In retaliation for Mayi-Mayi ambushes, UPDF forces launched indiscriminate attacks on villages suspected of harboring Mayi-Mayi fighters. These operations frequently involved mass civilian killings, destruction of property, and other acts of brutality. On 1 November 2000, UPDF soldiers reportedly executed between 7 and 11 civilians in Maboya and Loya, 16 kilometers north of Butembo , while setting ablaze 43 houses. Victims were either shot or burned alive. On 8 November 2000, close to
9144-823: The RCD-ML's control, its armed wing, the Armée Populaire Congolaise (APC), was implicated in atrocities targeting civilian populations. In Kiantsaba, a village near Beni, APC forces killed at least five civilians and razed homes. Meanwhile, APC troops, in coordination with the UPDF, clashed with Mayi-Mayi militias in the village of Irango. During these confrontations, the UPDF reportedly committed mass killings , sexual violence against young girls , and extensive property destruction, including arson and looting. The UPDF's presence in Beni extended beyond military confrontations. For several years, Ugandan forces established
9271-600: The Rutshuru corridor north of Goma. Additional camps, such as Mugunga (156,115) and Lac Vert (49,449), were located westward on the Sake route. These camps, positioned near critical transit routes and the Rwandan border, became focal points of military confrontation. On the evening of 27 June 1996, a clandestine Rwandan unit allegedly infiltrated the Kibumba refugee camp in Nyiragongo Territory , resulting in
9398-416: The Rwandan government's Congo Desk, facilitating the direct export of coltan to international markets. Despite the eventual downturn in coltan prices, military transfers persisted, as illustrated by the 5 October 2002, seizure of 36 tonnes of coltan belonging to Rwanda Metals in Tanzania. The DRC government accused Rwanda Metals of looting resources from the DRC, though the company contested the claim, asserting
9525-746: The Second Congo War, military control over natural resources , particularly coltan , became a lucrative enterprise for the Rwandan-backed rebel group RCD-Goma . Although a decline in coltan prices led to a reduction in direct Rwandan army management of certain mining sites, their vested interest in the coltan trade remained high, with RCD-Goma and other political entities actively participating. RCD-Goma facilitated substantial revenue flows from coltan; however, even greater profits were channeled to Rwanda, as military officials and Rwandan authorities diverted significant quantities of coltan across
9652-575: The Semliki plains, originating from lacustrine and fluvial deposits, while older, humus -rich soils are found in regions with deeper, clayey substrates, abundant in organic matter. Savannas dominate the alluvial plains of Semliki and Rutshuru, while shrubby , sclerophyllous formations are found on the lava plains north of Lake Kivu. Mountain rainforests grow primarily in the Rwenzori and Virunga massifs, while equatorial forests are extensive in
9779-414: The Swahili vocabulary is derived from loan words, the vast majority Arabic , but also other contributing languages, including Persian , Hindustani , Portuguese , and Malay . Omani Arabic is the source of most Arabic loanwords in Swahili. In the text "Early Swahili History Reconsidered". However, Thomas Spear noted that Swahili retains a large amount of grammar, vocabulary, and sounds inherited from
9906-470: The United Nations and local witnesses indicate that no effort was made to distinguish civilians from combatants, with women and children among the fatalities. The following days saw continued massacres. In Osso, an improvised refugee camp adjacent to a local farm became a site of mass killing. Eyewitness accounts documented the presence of 20 to 100 bodies in the aftermath, though the actual death toll
10033-667: The Virunga National Park, an atrocity echoed in September 2003 in the nearby village of Mudja. Both incidents were marked by degrading treatment and indiscriminate abuse. In 2001, the Beni and Lubero regions in North Kivu became entrenched battlegrounds as various factions, including RCD-ML, Mayi-Mayi groups, UPDF, and elements of the FDLR, fought for territorial control. These conflicts were characterized by widespread violence against civilians, including extrajudicial killings , sexual violence , and systemic looting. Under
10160-465: The academic year 2005/2006. Kiswahili is now used widely in Burundi but is not recognised as an official language; only French, Kirundi, and English have this distinction. Since 2013, Swahili has been included in the all Burundian education system. Uganda adopted Kiswahili as one of its official languages (alongside English ) in 2022, and also made it compulsory across primary and secondary schools in
10287-546: The assault. By 31 October, AFDL and RPA forces had reportedly executed hundreds of refugees who remained in Kahindo Camp. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights violations in Zaire, Roberto Garretón, later estimated 143 deaths at Katale Camp and between 100 and 200 deaths at Kahindo Camp. As the AFDL/RPA offensive escalated, fear and desperation prompted some refugees to attempt repatriation to Rwanda. Between 26–31 October, approximately 900 refugees crossed
10414-735: The border is formed by the 30th meridian east." On this basis, all of Lake Kivu and both banks of the Ruzizi River were in the Free State. In June 1909, John Methuen Coote started the Kivu frontier incident when he travelled southwest from the British Uganda Protectorate and established fortified camps at Burungu and Rubona on Lake Kivu. British troops under Coote withdrew from the Rubona post on 29 June 1909, and
10541-566: The border. From January to October 2000, coltan exports from Rwandan-controlled eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo exceeded 445 tonnes , according to RCD-Goma's records. In late 2000, the organization implemented an export monopoly and declared 208 tonnes of coltan exports over the next two months. Accounting for both formal and clandestine transfers to Rwanda, annual production in the Kivu provinces likely reached between 1,400 and 1,700 tonnes in 2000. Estimates suggested that more than $ 60 million
10668-459: The central idea of tree , which is thin, tall, and spreading, comes an extension to other long or extended things or parts of things, such as mwavuli 'umbrella', moshi 'smoke', msumari 'nail'; and from activity there even come active instantiations of verbs, such as mfuo "metal forging", from -fua "to forge", or mlio "a sound", from -lia "to make a sound". Words may be connected to their class by more than one metaphor. For example, mkono
10795-573: The coltan was mined domestically. Although the Tanzanian High Court dismissed the case, the provenance of the seized coltan remains uncertain. RCD-Goma, despite its self-appointed administrative authority, lacked the logistical and military resources necessary for extensive control over mining areas, as exercised by the Rwandan army. Nevertheless, it capitalized on the coltan trade by imposing numerous taxes and fees, including mining license charges, non-refundable deposits, export taxes, and
10922-653: The committee received 20% of the sale price, with RCD-Goma providing security. Swahili language Swahili , also known by its local name Kiswahili , is a Bantu language originally spoken by the Swahili people , who are found primarily in Tanzania , Kenya , and Mozambique (along the East African coast and adjacent littoral islands). Estimates of the number of Swahili speakers, including both native and second-language speakers, vary widely. They generally range from 60 million to 150 million; with most of its native speakers residing in Tanzania. Swahili has
11049-468: The country. The Swahili language is not widespread in Somalia and has no official status nationally or regionally. Dialects of Swahili are spoken by some ethnic minorities on the Bajuni islands in the form of Kibajuni on the southern tip of the country and in the town of Brava in the form of Chimwiini ; both contain a significant amount of Somali and Italian loanwords. Standard Swahili
11176-776: The court system. With the Germans controlling the major Swahili-speaking region in East Africa, they changed the alphabet system from Arabic to Latin. After the First World War, Britain took over German East Africa, where they found Swahili rooted in most areas, not just the coastal regions. The British decided to formalise it as the language to be used across the East African region (although in British East Africa [Kenya and Uganda] most areas used English and various Nilotic and other Bantu languages while Swahili
11303-733: The deaths of three refugees, two soldiers from the Contingent Zaïrois pour la Sécurité des Camps (CZSC), and three Red Cross wardens. By October, the AFDL and RPA intensified their offensive, bombarding the Kibumba camp with heavy artillery on the night of 25–26 October, leaving an indeterminate number of refugees dead and obliterating the camp's hospital. Over 194,000 survivors fled toward Mugunga, while simultaneous assaults decimated Katale Camp despite initial resistance from Forces Armées Zairoises (FAZ)/CZSC personnel, ex- FAR combatants, and Interahamwe militias. Reports indicate several dozen refugees and one CZSC soldier were killed during
11430-506: The east coast of Africa, which was also the time period when Swahili emerged as a lingua franca in the region. Due to concerted efforts by the government of Tanzania , Swahili is one of three official languages (the others being English and French) of the East African Community (EAC) countries, namely Burundi , Democratic Republic of the Congo , Kenya , Rwanda , Somalia , South Sudan , Tanzania , and Uganda . It
11557-481: The entire world over". Although other bodies and agencies can propose new vocabularies, BAKITA is the only organisation that can approve its usage in the Swahili language. Tanzanians are highly credited for shaping the language to appear the way it is now. In Kenya, Kiswahili has been the national language since 1964 and is official since 2010. Chama cha Kiswahili cha Taifa (CHAKITA) was established in 1998 to research and promote Kiswahili language in Kenya. Kiswahili
11684-508: The following: Maho (2009) considers these to be distinct languages: The rest of the dialects are divided by him into two groups: Maho includes the various Comorian dialects as a third group. Most other authorities consider Comorian to be a Sabaki language, distinct from Swahili. In Somalia , where the Afroasiatic Somali language predominates, a variant of Swahili referred to as Chimwiini (also known as Chimbalazi)
11811-583: The formation of the Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie (RCD-Goma), a Tutsi-dominated rebel group supported by Rwanda. On the same day, the city of Goma fell into the hands of RCD-Goma and RPA without significant resistance. Goma remained under rebel control for nearly three years, from August 1998 to January 2001. On 25 February 1999, RCD-Goma and RPA forces massacred 45 civilians in Lukweti, Masisi Territory . Subsequent airstrikes by
11938-437: The former Kibumba camp. One of the most harrowing incidents occurred in April 1997 near Mwaro, close to the village of Kibumba. On 9 April AFDL/RPA soldiers intercepted refugees attempting to return to Rwanda. The victims were imprisoned in a mosque and a former farm building before being killed on 11 April. The number of victims is unknown, but accounts suggest the massacre claimed several hundred lives. In mid-November 1996,
12065-442: The former are kisu "knife", kiti "chair" (from mti "tree, wood"), chombo "vessel" (a contraction of ki-ombo ). Examples of the latter are kitoto "infant", from mtoto "child"; kitawi "frond", from tawi "branch"; and chumba ( ki-umba ) "room", from nyumba "house". It is the diminutive sense that has been furthest extended. An extension common to diminutives in many languages is approximation and resemblance (having
12192-431: The gender of nouns in some languages with grammatical gender, so in Swahili adjectives, pronouns and even verbs must agree with nouns. This is a characteristic feature of all the Bantu languages . The ki-/vi- class historically consisted of two separate genders, artefacts (Bantu class 7/8, utensils and hand tools mostly) and diminutives (Bantu class 12/13), which were conflated at a stage ancestral to Swahili. Examples of
12319-463: The language continues to have a tradition of being written in Arabic script. Starting from the later half of the 19th century, continuing into the 20th century, and going on in the 21st century, a process of "Swahilization" of the Arabic Script has been underway by Swahili scribes and scholars. The first of such attempts was done by Mwalimu Sikujua , a scholar and poet from Mombasa . However,
12446-573: The leading body for promoting the language in the East African region , as well as for coordinating its development and usage for regional integration and sustainable development. In recent years South Africa , Botswana , Namibia , Ethiopia , and South Sudan have begun offering Swahili as a subject in schools or have developed plans to do so. Shikomor (or Comorian ), an official language in Comoros and also spoken in Mayotte ( Shimaore ),
12573-467: The legal ownership of the Canadian -based gold exploration and development company Banro Corp or the DRC government. In February 2001, an RCD-Goma committee awarded Medival Minerals Ltd., a Swiss company, an 18-month contract for cassiterite extraction in various concessions. In eastern DRC, coltan is often mislabeled as cassiterite to circumvent higher tantalum -related duties. Under this arrangement,
12700-638: The local Bantu peoples . This resulted in Swahili first being written in the Arabic script. The later contact with the Portuguese resulted in the increase of vocabulary of the Swahili language. The language was formalised in an institutional level when the Germans took over after the Berlin conference . After seeing there was already a widespread language, the Germans formalised it as the official language to be used in schools. Thus schools in Swahili are called Shule (from German Schule ) in government, trade and
12827-544: The mineral. Return flights often carried arms and equipment back into the DRC. Civilian flights, which previously allowed local miners to sell coltan to local trading houses , were halted by military authorities to consolidate control over the trade. Civilians in military-controlled mining areas were frequently coerced into forced labor, and even paid miners had to sell their output to army officials at considerably reduced rates. Additionally, Rwandan soldiers served as private security for foreign-owned mining concessions, receiving
12954-640: The most recent in August 2022) and was the epicenter of the 2018–2020 Kivu Ebola outbreak, which was the second largest in history, resulting in over 3400 cases and 2200 deaths, following the 2014–2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak. Situated along the equator, North Kivu spans latitudes from 0° 58' north to 2° 03' south and longitudes from 27° 14' west to 29° 58' east. Its topography ranges from less than 800 meters to peaks exceeding 5,000 meters in altitude, comprising diverse formations including plains , plateaus , and mountainous regions. Notable lowland areas include
13081-405: The original emphatic consonants /dˤ, sˤ, tˤ, ðˤ/ and the uvular /q/ , or lengthening a vowel, where aspiration would be used in inherited Bantu words. Swahili is now written in the Latin alphabet. There are a few digraphs for native sounds, ch , sh , ng ' and ny ; q and x are not used, c is not used apart from the digraph ch , unassimilated English loans and, occasionally, as
13208-626: The other classes may be placed in this class. The other classes have foundations that may at first seem similarly counterintuitive. In short, Borrowings may or may not be given a prefix corresponding to the semantic class they fall in. For example, Arabic دود dūd ("bug, insect") was borrowed as mdudu , plural wadudu , with the class 1/2 prefixes m- and wa- , but Arabic فلوس fulūs ("fish scales", plural of فلس fals ) and English sloth were borrowed as simply fulusi (" mahi-mahi " fish) and slothi (" sloth "), with no prefix associated with animals (whether those of class 9/10 or 1/2). In
13335-479: The outbreak of hostilities in the DRC. American photojournalist and war correspondent Keith Harmon Snow asserted that Roger Winter, a key figure in the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants , orchestrated U.S.-endorsed insurgencies in Congo and neighboring states, including Rwanda, Sudan , and Uganda. In July 1998, driven by fears of a coup d'état , President Laurent-Désiré Kabila relieved Rwandan General James Kabarebe of his position as Chief of Staff of
13462-730: The park's inhospitable terrain for weeks. The volcanic landscape, marked by lava fields , offered little access to drinking water , leading to deaths from thirst and starvation . AFDL/RPA forces maintained relentless pressure on refugees. Checkpoints established between Mount Nyiragongo and Mugunga became sites of mass killings . Survivors reported that refugees intercepted at the park's exit were sorted by age and gender, with adult males systematically executed. The violence extended to makeshift camps within Virunga National Park, where refugees who sought temporary shelter were targeted. By February 1997, reports from local witnesses indicated that bodies of newly deceased refugees were discovered daily near
13589-521: The process of naturalization of borrowings within Swahili, loanwords are often reinterpreted, or reanalysed, as if they already contain a Swahili class prefix. In such cases the interpreted prefix is changed with the usual rules. Consider the following loanwords from Arabic: Similarly, English wire and Arabic وقت waqt ("time") were interpreted as having the class 11 prevocalic prefix w- , and became waya and wakati with plural nyaya and nyakati respectively. Swahili phrases agree with nouns in
13716-462: The province is confronted with ongoing security challenges stemming from armed groups , resource-related conflicts , and ethnic tensions . The Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group has been a significant source of instability . As of early 2024, M23-related violence had displaced approximately 1.7 million people, accounting for nearly 14% of North Kivu's population. North Kivu has also been the site of multiple outbreaks of Ebola virus disease (including
13843-459: The region. While the Arabs were mostly based in the coastal areas, European missionaries went further inland spreading Christianity. As the first missionary posts in East Africa were in the coastal areas, missionaries picked up Swahili and used it to spread Christianity, since it contained many similarities with other indigenous languages in the region. During the struggle for Tanganyika independence,
13970-516: The south, as well as Uganda and Rwanda to the east. North Kivu's administrative history traces back to the colonial era when it was initially part of the Stanley Falls District within the Congo Free State . Following a series of territorial reorganizations, North Kivu became incorporated into Orientale Province , with Stanleyville (modern-day Kisangani ) as the provincial capital. The area gained provincial status in 1962 but
14097-549: The spread of a standardized indigenous variation of Arabic script for Swahili was hampered by the colonial takeover of East Africa by the United Kingdom and Germany . The usage of Arabic script was suppressed in German East Africa and to a lesser extent in British East Africa . Nevertheless, well into the 1930s and 1940s, rural literacy rate in Arabic script as well as a local preference to write Swahili in
14224-732: The territories of Lubero , Masisi , Walikale , and Beni . Human activities have markedly influenced the province's vegetation, particularly through establishing single-species plantations , mainly comprising Eucalyptus saligna and Grevillea robusta . These plantations, alongside community-operated village plantations, constitute the principal legitimate wood-energy sources for populations proximate to Virunga National Park. Additional species, such as Acacia mearnsii , are also cultivated, often interplanted with food crops to provide supplementary revenue streams for local populations. These monoculture plantations, extending over approximately 11,200 hectares, play an indispensable role in meeting
14351-460: The victims were instead led to their deaths, being killed with sticks, hammers, and axes. Indigenous residents were coerced into participating in the killings and were later forced to bury the bodies. In the Nyarusukula district of Walikale , which had been transformed into a restricted military zone, hundreds of refugees were killed. Civilians were prohibited from entering the area, and most of
14478-422: The victims were women and children. In the following days, soldiers committed further atrocities near Kampala, a town close to Hombo. Refugees were burned alive along the road, while many women were subjected to sexual violence before being killed. In Chambucha , four kilometers from Hombo, soldiers intercepted several hundred refugees, including a significant number of women and children, and executed them near
14605-546: The victims' bodies were disposed of in the Lowa River and its tributaries. In early 1997, more killings were reported at the Kariki makeshift camp, 13 kilometers from Walikale. Refugees who sought safety here became easy targets for the AFDL/RPA forces, and most of the victims' bodies were left unburied. The Second Congo War profoundly affected North Kivu, as conflict erupted due to deteriorating relations between President Laurent-Désiré Kabila , Rwanda, and Tutsi soldiers within
14732-421: The village of Butuhe, 10 kilometers north of Butembo, Vurondo Mayi-Mayi attacked a UPDF convoy escorting lorries transporting minerals . Similarly, on 9 November 2000, UPDF soldiers attacked the village of Kikere, close to Butuhe, killing 36 civilians with rifles and rocket launchers and systematically destroying homes and livestock . The UPDF's reign of terror in Beni included arbitrary arrests , torture , and
14859-468: The village of Ngenge in Walikale Territory, indiscriminately opening fire on residents. On 24 November, RCD-Goma and RPA soldiers beat a group of senior figures in the village to death. The same soldiers "killed civilians in the neighboring villages of Kangati and Kaliki". On 5 February 2000, at least 30 people were killed by RCD-Goma and RPA forces in the village of Kilambo, Masisi Territory. A local NGO identified 27 victims. During this period, members of
14986-401: The voiced consonants have devoiced, though they are still written mb, nd etc. The /r/ phoneme is realised as either a short trill [ r ] or more commonly as a single tap [ ɾ ] by most speakers. [x] exists in free variation with h, and is only distinguished by some speakers. In some Arabic loans (nouns, verbs, adjectives), emphasis or intensity is expressed by reproducing
15113-584: The wood-energy demands of North Kivu's residents, particularly in Goma. In 2011, the EcoMakala project emerged as a geographically integrated REDD+ initiative to mitigate emissions from deforestation and forest degradation . Between 2020 and 2021, EcoMakala+ secured USD 1.3 million in funding, allowing North Kivu to become the first province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to capitalize on carbon credit sales. North Kivu's climate
15240-557: Was demoted to a district under Mobutu Sese Seko 's regime in 1965. It was formally reinstated in 1988 under Ordinance-Law No. 88/1976 and Ordinance-Law No. 88-031, which redefined the previous Kivu Province into tripartite separate provinces: North Kivu, South Kivu, and Maniema. Presently, North Kivu comprises three cities— Goma , Butembo , and Beni —and six territories : Beni , Lubero , Masisi , Rutshuru , Nyiragongo , and Walikale . A 2013 decree also proposed city status for Kasindi , Oïcha , and Luholu. The province's eastern border
15367-1062: Was directed to local trading houses ( comptoirs ) during the peak months of the trade, while the Rwandan army reportedly accrued upwards of $ 250 million over an 18-month period from coltan exported to Rwanda. These profits largely benefitted Rwandan and RCD-Goma military elites, business figures, and other individuals with ties to the Rwandan government . The Rwandan army's extraction and transfer operations were organized and controlled by senior commanders stationed in key territories such as Walikale and Masisi . Checkpoints were established to monitor and restrict civilian access to mining areas, while major towns and airstrips became stockpiling sites for coltan awaiting air or road transport. To facilitate these operations, new airstrips were built, and military helicopters, along with contracted companies such as Swala Express, Bukavu Air Transport , and Kivu-Air , transported coltan from remote mining zones directly to Rwanda, where state-operated facilities were used to store
15494-475: Was dissolved in April 2001 due to the Rwandan army's disregard for RCD-Goma's control, withholding of stocks by trading houses, and a decline in tantalum prices. Letters from RCD-Goma officials expressed concern over revenue losses due to direct coltan exports to Rwanda by Rwandan forces. Monthly exports, estimated at 46 tonnes and valued at up to $ 21 million on the global market. RCD-Goma also capitalized on its authority by selling coltan concessions, even those under
15621-564: Was likely higher. In early December 1996, AFDL/RPA forces attacked a makeshift camp in Mbeshe Mbeshe, Katoyi Chiefdom, killing hundreds of refugees and Zaireans indiscriminately. Survivors recalled the brutal nature of these assaults, with camps turned into death traps as soldiers opened fire on unarmed civilians. On 8 November 1996, survivors from Kahindo and Katale camps settled in Bashali Chiefdom , only to face renewed attacks by AFDL/RPA soldiers. Around 18 November, these forces stormed
15748-586: Was mostly restricted to the coast). In June 1928, an inter-territorial conference attended by representatives of Kenya , Tanganyika , Uganda , and Zanzibar took place in Mombasa . The Zanzibar dialect was chosen as standard Swahili for those areas, and the standard orthography for Swahili was adopted. Estimates of the total number of first- and second-language Swahili speakers vary widely, from as low as 50 million to as high as 200 million, but generally range from 60 million to 150 million. Swahili has become
15875-605: Was systematically looted. The indigenous Twa communities in North Kivu suffered disproportionately during this period. Accused of collaborating with various armed factions, the Twa people were subjected to repeated attacks by both RCD-Goma soldiers and FDLR. Crimes against the Twa people included rape , arbitrary detention , and other inhumane acts rooted in both ethnic prejudice and superstitious beliefs. In March 2003, RCD-Goma forces gang-raped numerous Twa women in Mubambiro, near
16002-576: Was that a good number of the borrowed terms had Bantu equivalents. The preferred use of Arabic loan words is prevalent along the coast, where local people, in a cultural show of proximity to, or descent from Arab culture, would rather use loan words, whereas the people in the interior tend to use the Bantu equivalents. It was originally written in Arabic script . The earliest known documents written in Swahili are letters written in Kilwa , Tanzania , in 1711 in
16129-571: Was used to strengthen solidarity within the nation, and remains to be a key identity of the Tanzanian people. Standard Swahili has five vowel phonemes : /ɑ/ , /ɛ/ , /i/ , /ɔ/ , and /u/ . According to Ellen Contini-Morava , vowels are never reduced , regardless of stress . However, according to Edgar Polomé , these five phonemes can vary in pronunciation. Polomé claims that /ɛ/ , /i/ , /ɔ/ , and /u/ are pronounced as such only in stressed syllables. In unstressed syllables, as well as before
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