User:Tripp/Lingor Island

Lingor Island sits in the Mozambique Channel just north of the Comoros islands, Lingor is actually an archipeligo of larger and smaller islands. The islands have been at the crossroads of multiple cultures for centuries. Like its neighbor to the southwest, Comoros, Lingor has been populated by African, Arabic, Euro-Asian travelers. Its beautiful beaches and balmy tropical weather made it a sought-after destination.

Geography
Lingor's islands are located in the Mozambique Channel to the north-west of Madagascar and approximately 300 km east of Mozambique. The main islands cover a total land area of 118 km². The archipelago is usually discussed in terms of regions:
 * The Northwest (including Guayeen, Lucos and San Isabel)
 * Maruko Island (from Maruko to Sanvigado)
 * The Northeast (including Cemari, Madron and Puente Malargo)
 * Central Island (including Rosalia, Calapedro, Corazon, Prospero, Vietorin, Montehofo, and Aguado)
 * South Island (Calamar, Falco, Lagosa to Marcella)
 * The Southeast (from Marcella to Palida and Chupinka)

History
Like the Comoros, the earliest archaeological evidence of human habitation on Lingor dates to the first centuries AD, when Bantu people from Africa and Madagascar arrived and set up fishing villages. As a waypoint between the continent and the important island of Madagascar, Lingor quickly began to absorb parts of its visitors' cultures. The influence of Arab culture and the Islam date to the 8th century AD, followed by Persian and Indian traders. In the 16th century, European sailors began an uneasy colonization of the islands that lead to on and off unrest for the next 500 years.

In the early 1990s communist expatriates from the USSR, many of whom were involved in Mozambique, settled in Lingor and helped establish a socialist state. Initially, the islands thrived under the resort-based economy the socialist leaders set up with industrialist investors. But by the turn of the century, the relationship had soured and the view that the government was corrupt became widespread.

In 2002, a colonel of the Army of the Socialist Republic of Lingor (ARL), Carlos Gomez, lead a coup against the government. Details are debatable, but it is clear that the coup was put down violently and Col. Gomez fled into hiding. For the next ten years, guerrilla attacks against the government and the Army have left the islands in a crippled, decrepit state. The tourism economy dried up and many residents left the islands. The Lingor Freedom Fighters (LFF) have struggled to take control of the nation, allegedly getting funding from certain unnamed wealthy individuals, while some observers feel the ARL has been funded by shadowy Russian organized crime figures. Officially, both the United States and Russia claim no involvement in the affairs of Lingor.