Country Democratic Republic of the Congo Area 235 km2 | ||
Likasi (formerly official names: Jadotville (French) and Jadotstad (Dutch)) is a city in Katanga Province, in the south-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Contents
Map of Likasi
Climate
Likasi has a humid subtropical climate (Koppen: Cwa).
Demographics
Likasi has a population of around 447,500 (2012). During the 1990s the United Nations set up feeding centres and refugee centres in and around Likasi to assist with the refugees fleeing ethnic violence in Shaba, whose arrival had increased the population of the town some 41,000.
Transport
Likasi is served by a station on the national railway system. The trains are mostly cargo trains and not passenger trains.
History
In 1961, during the United Nations intervention in the Katanga conflict, a company of Irish UN troops deployed to Jadotville was forced to surrender to troops loyal to the Katangese Prime Minister Moise Tshombe (see Siege of Jadotville).
Economy
Likasi remains a centre for industry, especially mining, and is a transport hub for the surrounding region. There are mines and refineries supplied by nearby deposits of copper and cobalt. There is also an abandoned gold mine in Likasi, which has been drained of its gold but is still dug by artisanal miners.