Ituri Province

Last updated
Ituri
Province du l'Ituri (French)
Mkoa wa Ituri (Swahili)
Province
Photo of the day 11.10.2015 (21868921339).jpg
Okapi Wildlife Reserve
Emblem of Ituri Province.png
Seal
Democratic Republic of the Congo (26 provinces) - Ituri.svg
Coordinates: 1°50′N29°30′E / 1.833°N 29.500°E / 1.833; 29.500
CountryFlag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg  DR Congo
Established2015
Named for Ituri River
Capital Bunia
Government
 • GovernorJohnny Luboya Nkashama (military) [1]
Area
 • Total65,658 km2 (25,351 sq mi)
 • Rank16th
Population
 (2020)
 • Total4,392,200
 • Rank7th
 • Density67/km2 (170/sq mi)
Time zone UTC+2 (CAT)
License Plate Code Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg CGO / 07
Official language French
National language Swahili
Website provinceituri.co archive

Ituri Province (Jimbo la Ituri in Swahili) is one of the 21 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Ituri, Bas-Uele, Haut-Uele, and Tshopo provinces are the result of the subdividing of the former Orientale province. [2] Ituri was formed from the Ituri district whose town of Bunia was elevated to capital city of the new province. [3]

Contents

Geography

Ituri Rainforest Rainforest - Ituri (20874628148).jpg
Ituri Rainforest

The Ituri Rainforest is in this area, and is located northeast of the Ituri River and on the western side of Lake Albert. It has borders with Uganda and South Sudan.

Territories

Its five administrative territories are:

Geography

Ituri is a region of high plateau (2000–5000 meters) that has a large tropical forest but also the landscape of savannah. The province has rare fauna, including the okapi, the national animal of the Congo. As for flora, an important species is Mangongo, whose leaves are used by the Mbuti to build their homes.

Economy

The Kilo-Moto gold mines are partly located in Ituri. In the beginning of the 21st century, petroleum reserves have been found by Heritage Oil and Tullow Oil on the shores of Lake Albert.

History

Ituri, as Kibali-Ituri, was a province of the DRC from 1962 to 1966. Prior to the adoption of the 2006 Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the legal status of Ituri was a topic of some dispute. From the beginning of the Second Congo War in 1998, it was held by soldiers of the Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF) and the Ugandan-backed Movement for Liberation faction of the Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD-ML). In June 1999, the commander of UPDF forces in the DRC, Brig. Gen. James Kazini, ignored the protests of RCD-ML leaders and re-created the province of Kibali-Ituri out of the eastern section of the northeastern Orientale province. [4] It is almost always referred to simply as Ituri. The creation of the new province under the political rivalry contributed to the start of the current Ituri conflict, which has caused thousands of deaths. Most official cartographers did not include the new province, and those referring to it as a "province" rather than a "region" were sometimes viewed as having a pro-Uganda bias. With the new constitution, Ituri's status as a province was finally settled.

Approximate correspondence between historical and current province

Approximate correspondence between historical and current province
Belgian CongoRepublic of the CongoZaireDemocratic Republic of the Congo
1908191919321947196319661971198819972015
22 districts4 provinces6 provinces6 provinces21 provinces + capital8 provinces + capital8 provinces + capital11 provinces11 provinces26 provinces
Bas-UeleOrientaleStanleyvilleOrientaleUeleOrientaleHaut-Zaïre Orientale Bas-Uele
Haut-Uele Haut-Uele
Ituri Kibali-Ituri Ituri
StanleyvilleHaut-Congo Tshopo
Aruwimi
ManiemaCostermansville Kivu Maniema Kivu Maniema
Lowa
KivuNord-Kivu Nord-Kivu
Kivu-Central Sud-Kivu

Government

An Ituri Interim Administration was formed through the efforts of the Ituri Pacification Commission, a commission sponsored by the United Nations Organization Mission in Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC, abbreviation of the French name "Mission de l'Organisation des Nations Unies en République Démocratique du Congo") that was set up, after much initial delay, in 2003 after the pull-out of Ugandan troops from the district. It led to the creation of the Ituri Interim Assembly, which elected an administrator and an assembly chairperson; the current assembly chairperson is Petronille Vaweka, who is also the sole deputy for the district to the National Assembly in Kinshasa.

The Interim Assembly will be reconstituted or replaced by a provincial assembly under the 2006 constitution. An election for the governor and vice-governor will also be held, and the district will be re-created as a province of the DRC.

Presidents, later governors, of Kibali-Ituri from 1962–1966

Governors of Ituri since 1999

Demographics

Bunia from the air Over Bunia.jpg
Bunia from the air

The population is composed primarily of Alur, Hema, Lendu, Ngiti, Bira and Ndo-Okebo, with differing figures on which one of the groups constitutes the largest percentage of the population in the province. The Mbuti, a pygmy ethnic group, reside primarily in the Ituri forest near the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, although some Mbuti have been forced into urban areas by deforestation, over-hunting and violence.

The 2020 population was estimated to be 4,392,200. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orientale Province</span> Province in Democratic Republic of the Congo

Orientale Province is one of the former provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its predecessors the Congo Free State and the Belgian Congo. It went through a series of boundary changes between 1898 and 2015, when it was divided into smaller units.

The Lendu language is a Central Sudanic language spoken by the Balendru, an ethno-linguistic agriculturalist group residing in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in the area west and northwest of Lake Albert, specifically the Ituri Region of Orientale Province. It is one of the most populous of the Central Sudanic languages. There are three-quarters of a million Lendu speakers in the DRC. A conflict between the Lendu and the Hema was the basis of the Ituri conflict.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hema people</span> Bantu ethnic group

The Hema people or Bahema (plural) are a Bantu ethnic group who are concentrated in parts of Ituri Province in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ituri conflict</span> Subconflict of the Second Congo War

The Ituri conflict is an ongoing low intensity asymmetrical conflict between the agriculturalist Lendu and pastoralist Hema ethnic groups in the Ituri region of the north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). While the two groups had fought since as early as 1972, the name "Ituri conflict" refers to the period of intense violence between 1999 and 2003. Armed conflict continues to the present day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bunia</span> Provincial capital and city in Ituri, Democratic Republic of the Congo

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Operation Artemis, formally European Union Force Democratic Republic of the Congo (EUFOR), was a short-term European Union-led UN-authorised military mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2003, during the Ituri conflict. ARTEMIS is considered the first military operation led by the EU, the first autonomous EU operation, the first rapid response mission of the EU, first operation outside Europe, first operation applying the principle of the framework nation and first example of "relay operation", conducted in cooperation between the EU and the United Nations. The deployment of EUFOR troops quickly decreased the conflict's intensity. It marked the first autonomous EU military mission outside Europe and an important milestone in development of the European Security and Defence Policy.

Congolese history in the 2000s has primarily revolved around the Second Congo War (1998–2003) and the empowerment of a transitional government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patriotic Resistance Front of Ituri</span> Political party in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Front for Patriotic Resistance in Ituri is a Bunia-based armed militia and political party primarily active in the south of the Ituri Province of northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ituri Interim Administration</span> Place in DR Congo

The Ituri Interim Administration is an interim body that administers the Ituri region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It was established in 2003 by the Ituri Pacification Commission and supported by the UN mission in the DRC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haut-Congo Province</span> Former province in Republic of the Congo

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bas-Uélé</span> Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Bas-Uélé is one of the 21 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Bas-Uélé, Haut-Uélé, Ituri, and Tshopo provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former Orientale Province. Bas-Uélé was formed from the Bas-Uele District whose town of Buta was elevated to capital city of the new province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haut-Uélé</span> Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Haut-Uélé is one of the 21 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Haut-Uélé, Bas-Uélé, Ituri, and Tshopo provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former Orientale province. Haut-Uélé was formed from the Haut-Uélé district whose town of Isiro was elevated to capital city of the new province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ituri District</span> District in Orientale, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Ituri District, later Kibali-Ituri District, was a district of the Belgian Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It roughly corresponded in area to the present Ituri Province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tshopo</span> Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Tshopo is one of the 21 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. It is situated in the north central part of the country on the Tshopo River, for which it is named.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haut-Uele District</span> District in Orientale, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Haut-Uele District was a district of the Belgian Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was formed from part of Uele District in 1912. It roughly corresponded in area to the present Haut-Uélé province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bas-Uele District</span> District in Orientale, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Bas-Uele District was a district of the Belgian Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was formed from part of Uele District in 1912 and was later merged into Uele District, then split out again. There were various boundary changes. It roughly corresponded in area to the present Bas-Uélé province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stanleyville District</span> District in Orientale, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Stanleyville District was a district of the Belgian Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo. It went through various changes in extent. Between 1933 and 1963 it had roughly the same extent as the current Tshopo province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CODECO</span> Militia in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

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References

  1. ↑ Mokonzi, Azarias (10 May 2021). "Ituri : le Lieutenant-Général Johnny Nkashama Luboya nouveau gouverneur dit venir pour imposer la paix". Infocongo (in French). Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  2. ↑ "Découpage territorial : procédures d'installation de nouvelles provinces". Radio Okapi (in French). 13 July 2015. Archived from the original on 19 July 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  3. ↑ "Provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo". Statiods.com.
  4. ↑ "Background to the Hema-Lendu Conflict in Uganda-Controlled Congo (Human Rights Watch Press release, )". www.hrw.org. Retrieved 2022-12-18.
  5. ↑ "Congo (Dem. Rep.): Provinces, Major Cities & Towns – Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2024-02-11.

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