Kissidougou ( N’ko: ߞߛߌ߬ߘߎ߯; pronounced like Kiss-eh-dow-goo) is a city in southern Guinea. It is the capital of in the Kissidougou Prefecture. Following intensified conflicts in

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

and Liberia during the fall and winter of 2000, many people from the city of

Guéckédou Guéckédou or Guékédou is a town in southern Guinea near the Sierra Leone and Liberian borders. It had a population of 79,140 in 1996 (census) but has grown massively since the civil wars and, , it is estimated to be 221,715. It was a centre o ...

fled to Kissidougou and stayed. As of 2014 it had a population of 102,675 people. The town is served by Kissidougou Airport, and the Niandan river flows past the city.

Kissidougou City

Founded in the eighteenth century, the city is known for the

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

s and large expanses of nearby

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

. Other attractions in the city include a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

, a

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all-s ...

and a major

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

. Although the market is open 7 days a week, it is especially busy on Tuesdays. The word ''Kissidougou'' means ''a place of refuge'' in Malinke, Kouranko alinke Sub-groupare the largest local ethnic group. The Guinean musician and singer

Mory Kanté Mory Kanté (29 March 195022 May 2020) was a Guinean vocalist and player of the kora harp. He was best known internationally for his 1987 hit song " Yé ké yé ké", which reached number-one in Belgium, Finland, the Netherlands, and Spain. Th ...

was from Kissidougou.

Ethnicity

Besides the dominant Kouranko and Kissi there are many other ethnic groups living in Kissidougou, including the

Malinké The Mandinka or Malinke are a West African ethnic group primarily found in southern Mali, the Gambia and eastern Guinea. Numbering about 11 million, they are the largest subgroup of the Mandé peoples and one of the largest ethnic-linguistic g ...

and

Fula Fula may refer to: *Fula people (or Fulani, Fulɓe) *Fula language (or Pulaar, Fulfulde, Fulani) **The Fula variety known as the Pulaar language **The Fula variety known as the Pular language **The Fula variety known as Maasina Fulfulde *Al-Fula ...

. Many Loma people live in this region as well, especially between Kissidougou and

Macenta Geography Macenta is the capital of the Macenta Prefecture in southeastern Guinea is located in the Guinea Highlands (at ) on the road from Nzérékoré to Guéckédou. The Nianda River joins the Makonda River near Macenta. Macenta is also loca ...

Climate

Kissidougou has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Aw'').

Refugee crisis

Throughout the 1990s, the government of Guinea, in cooperation with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), provided international protection and assistance to Sierra Leonian and Liberian refugees residing along Guinea's southern border. In December 2000 and January 2001, a series of cross border attacks resulted in a massive shift in refugee (and Guinean) populations. Many fled to the Kissidougou and N'Zérékoré Prefectures in the Forest Region of Guinea. In February 2001, relocation of the Gueckédou and

Faranah Faranah ( N’ko: ߝߙߊߣߊ߫߫) is a town and sub-prefecture in central Guinea, lying by the River Niger. As of 2014 it had a population of 78,108 people. The town is mainly inhabited by the Malinke people. History Sékou Touré was born in ...

camps began with the transfer of temporary refugee settlements to new camps in the

Albadariah Albadaria is a town and sub-prefecture in the Kissidougou Prefecture in the Faranah Region of Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (fren ...

sub-prefecture of Kissidougou. Throughout 2001, there were more than 400,000 refugees in Guinea, many in Kissidougou. This massive influx of Sierra Leonian refugees placed great stress on the government of Guinea as well as upon international aid organizations' ability to provide a stable, secure refuge. There were widespread accounts of sexual violence throughout the camps, despite the best efforts of the international relief organizations. www.arcrelief.org, KAP Survey

References

{{Authority control Sub-prefectures of the Faranah Region