![Ubangirivermap](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Ubangirivermap.png)
Bili (coordinates 4°9'N 25°10'E), which is about 200 km east of
Bondo and 250 km north of
Buta, is a city in the
Bas-Uélé District in the northern
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
in
Central Africa
Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, ...
. It lies along the
Bili river, a tributary of the
Ubangi river
The Ubangi River (), also spelled Oubangui, is the largest right-bank tributary of the Congo River in the region of Central Africa. It begins at the confluence of the Mbomou (mean annual discharge 1,350 m3/s) and Uele Rivers (mean annual discharge ...
. It lies 50 km south of the
Mbomou river
The Mbomou River or Bomu (also spelled M'bomou in French) forms part of the boundary between the Central African Republic (CAR) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The Mbomou merges with the Uele River to form the Ubangi River. The Ub ...
, which forms the border with the
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...
.
It is situated to the north of the
Uélé river. The town has existed since at least 1908.
It sits on land covered in marshlands, swamps and
savannah
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...
, with patches of forest, while to the south of the Uélé lies dense unbroken
rainforest
Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...
.
The local populace of the greater area are
Azande.
In 2005, a ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' reporter found the region was highly undeveloped due to
war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
and neglect. Bicycles were the main mode of transport at the time.
[ Faris, Stephan (January 17, 2005)]
"Lost apes of the Congo: A ''Time'' Reporter Travels Deep into the African Jungle in Search of a Mysterious Chimp Called the Lion Killer"
''Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
''.
Gold was found in the region, attracting many prospectors in 2006–2007.
The
troubles
The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...
in the neighbouring country of the
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...
have caused a large number of people to cross the nearby Mbomou river to seek refuge here. In 2015 a
UNHCR
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...
refugee camp
A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displaced peo ...
for 4,000 was set up in a near-by village. There was
not enough to eat.
As of 2020 the refugee camp now houses 10,000 people from CAR. There are also numerous informal refugee camps along the border on the near bank of the Mbomou and Ubangi, such as Baladamo Rive, housing 90,000 people in makeshift shelters.
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
is a problem. The UNHCR is trying to convince these refugees to decamp to Bili.
[
In 2016 the ]WHO
Who or WHO may refer to:
* Who (pronoun), an interrogative or relative pronoun
* Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism
* World Health Organization
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Who, a creature in the Dr. Seuss book '' Horton He ...
registered a cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
outbreak in Bili.
In 2014 the Africa Wildlife Foundation
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
(AWF) declared the entire region from the Uélé to the Mbomou to be the 'Bili–Mbomu Forest Savanna Mosaic'. They also call the region the 'Bili-Uele Protected Area'. The government of the DRC does not recognise these entities. In 2015 the AWF complained of artisanal miners and indigenous Mbororo
The Wodaabe ( ff, Woɗaaɓe, Adlam: ), also known as the Mbororo or Bororo (Adlam: , ), or Pullo, have a name that is designated to those of the Fula ethnic group who are traditionally nomadic and considered to be "ignorant of Islam." For thi ...
people crossing the river from the north, as they survive as cattle herdsmen and might hunt animals, as well as the Lord's Resistance Army
The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), also known as the Lord's Resistance Movement, is a rebel group and heterodox Christian group which operates in northern Uganda, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Co ...
, an extremist Christian militia. In early 2015 the NGO
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
brought in Maisha Group Ltd., a commando training company, which established a field office in Bili. The plan was to train a group of twenty to thirty rangers to patrol the region for the AWF and the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature
The ''Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature'' (English; "Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation") is a Congolese governmental partner tasked with the protection and conservation of the Virunga National Park and Kahuzi-Biega Na ...
(ICCN), an independent partner for the DRC government. The AWF planned to talk to local 'stakeholders' and 'intruders' at a later date. As of 2019 the AWF uses UAV technology and spatial modelling to protect the wildlife in the area, funded by western charities.
Bili can be reached by light plane,[ boat,] and by vehicles on unpaved roads.[
]
Natural history
The region around Bili, between the Ubangi river to the northwest and the Uélé river to the south, was studied in the early 2000s by scientists interested in common chimpanzee
The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of Hominidae, great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close r ...
s. In 2003 an American controversially claimed to have maybe discovered a dangerous new species of great ape
The Hominidae (), whose members are known as the great apes or hominids (), are a taxonomic family of primates that includes eight extant species in four genera: '' Pongo'' (the Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutan); ''Gorilla'' (the east ...
here, but her claims were debunked.
At least in the early 2000s, the wider area has elephant
Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...
s,[ ]lion
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...
s, hyena
Hyenas, or hyaenas (from Ancient Greek , ), are feliform carnivoran mammals of the family Hyaenidae . With only four extant species (each in its own genus), it is the fifth-smallest family in the Carnivora and one of the smallest in the clas ...
s and leopard
The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...
s.
The Domaine Chasse Bili Uere is a hunting preserve in the area. The Uéré is another river further to the east. Garamba National Park
Garamba National Park is a nearly national park in north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is among Africa's oldest parks, and was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980 for its protection of critical habitat for norther ...
lies even further east from that. As of 2017 the ICCN has rangers installed at Bili Uéré.
References
{{coord, 4, 09, N, 25, 10, E, source:enwiki-plaintext-parser, display=title
Geography of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Bas-Uélé
Places