Korhogo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Korhogo is a town and departments in the mountainous north-central region of Côte d'Ivoire. It has a population of 163,400 (2002 estimate). It produces and/or processes goods such as cotton, kapok, rice, millet, peanuts, corn, yams, sheep, goats and diamonds. The town was on an important pre-colonial trade route to the Atlantic coast. It is said to have been founded by Nangui, a 14th-century Senufo patriarch and still is the capital of the Senufo people.

Sights in Korhogo include the Péléforo Gbon Coulibary Regional Museum and the woodcarver’s quarter. Korhogo is also home to an airport, a large market, a cinema, mosque and swimming pool.

On September 19, Korhogo was seized by disaffected former soldiers rebelling against the rule of President Laurent Gbagbo. The coup was allegedly led by Robert Guéï, the former military dictator overthrown in a popular uprising in 2000. Despite the formal cessation of hostilities between the government and rebels in 2003, Korhogo remains unstable, with continued fighting between rival factions. In June 2004, forces loyal to rebel leader Guillaume Soro claimed that his Paris-based rival Ibrahim Coulibaly had attempted to assassinate Soro, leading to gun battles which left 22 dead in Korhogo. In August 2004, the United Nations' Ivory Coast mission announced that three mass graves, containing at least 99 bodies, had been discovered in the town.

[edit] Other facts

Geographical facts:
- elevation: 380 metres (1,250 feet)
- latitude: 9°25′ N longitude: 5°37′ W
Korhogo's average annual rainfall is 1,243 mm, with the rainiest months being May-October. Its average year-round temperature is 26.6 degrees Celsius, with hottest months being February-April.
Korhogo's airport has the International Air Transport Association code HGO and the International Civil Aviation Organization code DIKO. Its one runway is 2,100 metres (6,900 feet) long, and receives domestic flights only.
since 1994, Korhogo has been an Archdiocese of the Catholic church, providing for around 25,000 Catholics. Previously it was a Diocese, part of the Archdiocese of Abidjan.