Buka is situated on Buka Island

Buka Island

Buka Island is the second largest island in the Papua New Guinean province of Bougainville.- History :Buka was first occupied by humans in paleolithic times, some 30,000 years ago...

, Bougainville Province

Bougainville Province

The Autonomous Region of Bougainville, previously known as North Solomons, is an autonomous region in Papua New Guinea. The largest island is Bougainville Island , and the province also includes the island of Buka and assorted outlying islands including the Carterets...

, Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...

. It has been the capital of the province during the Bougainville civil war. The former, or proper capital of Bougainville, Arawa

Arawa, Papua New Guinea

Arawa is the disputed capital and largest settlement in Bougainville Province in Papua New Guinea. The land where Arawa is now situated was previously a large expatriate plantation....

was all but destroyed in 1990 as tensions reached a critical level in a civil uprising, which ended in 1997.

Buka today is a bustling, peaceful town, detached by water from the main island Bougainville, and the much publicized tension there.