0°33N 25°14E, pop (2000e) 426 600. Capital of Haut-Zaïre region, NC Democratic Republic of Congo; on the R Congo, 1250 km/775 mi NE of Kinshasa; founded by Stanley, 1882; airport; university (1963); agricultural trade, textiles, brewing, furniture.
| Ville de Kisangani | |
| Image:Http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/DCongoTshopo.png Location in the Congo | |
| Province | Tshopo Province |
|---|---|
| Mayor | Ernest Etula Libanje |
| Area | |
| - City | km² |
| Population | |
| - City (2004) | 682,599 |
| Time zone | DRC2 (UTC+2) |
Kisangani, formerly Stanleyville, (population 500,000) is a city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa.
History
Henry Morton Stanley founded Stanley Falls Station in December 1883, on an island in the Congo River near the present town of Kisangani.
In late 1964 Simba rebels seized the city of Stanleyville, during the Congo Crisis, and took over 1600 European hostages. After 111 days of negotiating, Operation Dragon Rouge was launched by the United States, Belgium, and a mercenary force called "L'Ommegang" under the command of Colonel Frederic Vandewalle to free the hostages.
In 1999, Kisangani was the site of the first open fighting between Ugandan and Rwandan forces of the Second Congo War.
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