Friday, June 10, 2011

Kagera River

The Kagera River, also Akagera River, is an East African river and a remote source of the Nile. Originating in Burundi and emptying into Lake Victoria, the river became internationally known in 1994 for carrying bodies from the Rwandan Genocide into Lake Victoria.

* Geography

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/KageraRuvubu.jpg/256px-KageraRuvubu.jpgThe Kagera rises in Burundi and flows into Lake Victoria. It is the largest single inflow into the lake, contributing approximately 6.4 billion cubic metres of water a year (about 28 per cent of the lake's outflow). The Kagera is formed by the confluence of the RuvuvuNyabarongo, close to the northern-most point of Lake Tanganyika. It forms parts of the Burundi–Tanzania, Rwanda–Tanzania, Burundi–Rwanda, and Tanzania–Uganda borders. It lends its name to Akagera National Park in northern Rwanda. On the river are the Rusumo Falls, an important crossing point between Rwanda and Tanzania. It is near the province and town of Rusumo.

* Genocide  

During the Rwandan Genocide of 1994, the Kagera was used to dispose of corpses as thousands of Tutsis and Hutu political moderates were murdered on the river banks. The river brought the massacred bodies into Lake Victoria, creating a serious health hazard in Uganda.




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