Ituri | |
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| Coordinates:1°50′N29°30′E / 1.833°N 29.500°E /1.833; 29.500 | |
| Country |  DR Congo |
| Established | 2015 |
| Named after | Ituri River |
| Capital | Bunia |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Johnny Luboya Nkashama (military)[1] |
| Area | |
• Total | 65,658 km2 (25,351 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 16th |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 4,392,200 |
| • Rank | 7th |
| • Density | 66.895/km2 (173.26/sq mi) |
| Ethnic groups | |
| • Native | Kakwa,Lugbara,Alur,Pygmies,Lendu,BaBira,AbaTooro,BaBali,BaNyali,BaNdaka |
| • Settler | BaHema,Banyarwanda |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (CAT) |
| License Plate Code | CGO /07 |
| Official language | French |
| National language | Swahili |
| Website | provinceituri |
Ituri Province (French:Province de l'Ituri;Swahili:Jimbo la Ituri) is one of the 26provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the2015 repartitioning. Ituri,Bas-Uele,Haut-Uele, andTshopo provinces are the result of the subdividing of the formerOrientale province.[2] Ituri was formed from theIturi district whose town ofBunia was elevated to capital city of the new province.[3]
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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 theokapi, the national animal of the Congo. As for flora, an important species isMangongo, whose leaves are used by theMbuti to build their homes.[citation needed]
TheIturi Rainforest is in this area, and is located northeast of theIturi River and on the western side ofLake Albert. It has borders withUganda andSouth Sudan.
Its five administrative territories are:
Ituri, asKibali-Ituri, was a province of the DRC from 1962 to 1966. Prior to the adoption of the 2006Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the legal status of Ituri was a topic of some dispute. From the beginning of theSecond Congo War in 1998, it was held by soldiers of theUganda People's Defense Force (UPDF) and theUgandan-backed Movement for Liberation faction of theRally 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 northeasternOrientale 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 currentIturi 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.
 | This section'sfactual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. The reason given is: the interim administration was dissolved in 2005 or 2006. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(April 2019) |
AnIturi Interim Administration was formed through the efforts of theIturi 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 theIturi Interim Assembly, which elected an administrator and an assembly chairperson; the current assembly chairperson isPetronille Vaweka, who is also the sole deputy for the district to theNational Assembly inKinshasa.
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.
Coffee andcocoa beans are major agricultural exports from Ituri, with the cultivation of the latter growing in popularity among farmers.[5]
TheKilo-Moto gold mines are partly located in Ituri. In the beginning of the 21st century, petroleum reserves have been found byHeritage Oil andTullow Oil on the shores ofLake Albert.
The population is composed primarily ofAlur,Hema,Lendu,Ngiti,Bira andNdo-Okebo, with differing figures on which one of the groups constitutes the largest percentage of the population in the province. TheMbuti, a pygmy ethnic group, reside primarily in theIturi forest near theOkapi Wildlife Reserve, although some Mbuti have been forced into urban areas bydeforestation, over-hunting andviolence.
The 2020 population was estimated to be 4,392,200.[6]
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