Kitona

Kitona is a town of about 4,000 persons in the Bas-Congo province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located to the southwest of the country along the Atlantic Ocean, about 190 miles southwest of the capital city of Kinshasa. Following the Second World War, a Belgian military base, including an airbase, was established there, along with another at Kamina. Both bases played important roles during the early 1960s Congo Crisis.

Upon the outbreak of the Second Congo War in early August 1998, the rebel group, the Rally for Congolese Democracy, commandeered three aircraft in the eastern town of Goma and flew them to Kitona, taking the garrison by surprise and capturing the town. It was subsequently recaptured by a government-aligned Angolan force with tanks that drove out of the province of Cabinda on 22 August.[1]

Currently, an airbase is located in the town.

References

  1. ↑ Cooper, Tom (Nov 19, 2013). Great Lakes Conflagration: Second Congo War, 1998 - 2013. Helion and Company. pp. 24–25. ISBN 978-1909384668. Retrieved 24 December 2014.

Coordinates: 5°55′12″S 12°26′38″E / 5.92000°S 12.44389°E / -5.92000; 12.44389

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