Bunia is the capital city of
Ituri Province
Ituri is one of the 21 new 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 dismemberment of the former Orientale province. Ituri was ...
in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
(DRC). It was part of the
Orientale Province
Orientale Province ( French: ''Province orientale'', "Eastern 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 ...
until that province's dissolution.
It lies at an elevation of on a plateau about west of
Lake Albert in the
Albertine Rift
The Albertine Rift is the western branch of the East African Rift, covering parts of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania.
It extends from the northern end of Lake Albert to the southern end of Lake Tan ...
, and about east of the
Ituri Rainforest
The Ituri Rainforest is a rainforest located in the Ituri Province of northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The forest's name derives from the nearby Ituri River which flows through the rainforest, connecting firstly to the Aruwimi Ri ...
.
The city is at the center of the
Ituri conflict
The Ituri conflict (french: Guerre d'Ituri) is an ongoing 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 ...
between the
Lendu
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 ...
and
Hema. In the
Second Congo War the city and district were the scene of much fighting and many civilian deaths from this conflict, and related clashes between
militia
A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
s and
Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...
-based forces. Consequently, the city is the base of one of the largest
United Nations peace-keeping forces in Africa, and its headquarters in northeastern DRC. The area's natural resources include
gold mine Gold Mine may refer to:
* Gold Mine (board game)
*Gold Mine (Long Beach), an arena
*"Gold Mine", a song by Joyner Lucas from the 2020 album ''ADHD
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characteri ...
s over which militias and foreign forces have been fighting.
Climate
Bunia has a
tropical rainforest climate
A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southea ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''Af'') with warm, humid and wet conditions prevailing year-round. Although rainfall is reduced substantially between December and February, those months still average over of rain. For the rest of the year, rainfall is very heavy with over for nine months of the year.
Transport
The main dirt highways connecting north-eastern DR Congo with
Kisangani
Kisangani (formerly Stanleyville or Stanleystad) is the capital of Tshopo province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the fifth most populous urban area in the country, with an estimated population of 1,312,000 in 2021, and the larg ...
to the west and
Butembo
Butembo is a city in North Kivu, in the north eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, lying west of the Virunga National Park. The city is an important commercial centre with large markets, a cathedral, multiple large hospitals, and an airport. The ...
and
Goma
Goma is the capital of North Kivu province in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu, next to the Rwandan city of Gisenyi. The lake and the two cities are in the Albertine Rift, the ...
to the south pass through Bunia, but have fallen into disrepair and are virtually impassable, especially after the frequent rains.
Bunia is only from the Ugandan border running down Lake Albert, but there are no road connections across the Great Rift Valley to the closest Ugandan towns of Toro and
Fort Portal
Fort Portal or Kabarole is a city located in the Western Region of Uganda. It is the seat of both Kabarole District and historically of the Toro Kingdom.
Location
Fort Portal in Kabarole District is located approximately by road, west of Kampa ...
. Instead a dirt highway going north-east reaches
Arua and
Gulu
Gulu is a city in the Northern Region of Uganda. It is the commercial and administrative centre of Gulu District.
The coordinates of the city of Gulu are 2°46'54.0"N 32°17'57.0"E. The distance from Gulu to Kampala, Uganda's capital and larg ...
north of the lake. Before the war made the route impassable, this was the chief trade route between the DRC and Uganda, as well between the DRC and
Juba
Juba () is the capital and largest city of South Sudan. The city is situated on the White Nile and also serves as the capital of the Central Equatoria State. It is the world's newest capital city to be elevated as such, and had a population ...
in
South Sudan
South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the ...
, and Bunia was an important market city, for cross-border trade as well as internal trade.
The supposed route of the
Lagos-Mombasa Highway passes just to the south of Bunia, emphasising its potential as a centre of trade, but that transnational highway does not exist as a viable route through the DRC.
Bunia is linked to the small port of
Kasenyi on Lake Albert by a dirt track via Bogoro, which has a spectacular and dangerous 600-metre descent of the western escarpment of the Great Rift Valley. Kasenyi has a
jetty
A jetty is a structure that projects from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French word ', "thrown", signifying some ...
from which boat transport can link with
Mahagi-Port at the north end of the lake, and with
Butiaba and
Ntoroko
Ntoroko is a town officially known as Kanara Town Council in Ntoroko District Western Uganda. It is one of the four town councils of Ntoroko District the others being Karugutu, Rwebisengo and Kibuku Town Council.
Ntoroko is the largest fishing ...
on the Eastern Lake Albert Shore (Ugandan side) and
Pakwach on the
Albert Nile.
Given the poor state of the roads, and the total lack of railway transport,
Bunia Airport
Bunia Airport is an airport serving Bunia the capital of Ituri province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Bunia VOR/DME (Ident: BUN) and Bunia non-directional beacon (Ident: BUN) are located on the field.
Airlines and destinations
See ...
is of prime importance.
Demographics
Projected to be the eighth fastest growing city on the African continent between 2020 and 2025, with a 5.63% growth.
Other features
![Over Bunia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Over_Bunia.jpg)
Mount Hoyo is south-west of Bunia. The Shari River flows along the northwestern outskirts of the city. The
Ituri River
The Ituri River is a river of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the main tributary of the Aruwimi River, which forms where the Ituri meets the Nepoko River.
It gives its name to Ituri Province.
Course
The Ituri has its headwaters in pr ...
flows around 35 km west of Bunia. The confluence of the Shari and Ituri is about south-southwest of Bunia.
Google Earth
—measurements and directions checked.
Although Bunia is about north of the Equator, the city was featured in the BBC television travel documentary '' Equator'' made in 2006, since it was one of the few places near the Equator in eastern DRC where the safety of the TV crew could be assured, by the presence of the large UN peace-keeping force.
Higher education
Bunia has a number of universities, the largest being the University of Bunia (UNIBU) followed by the privat
Université Shalom de Bunia (USB)
which offers the largest library in Bunia (about 40,000 volumes) with a
online catalog
References
External links
Detailed Map of Bunia
Map of tribal areas of Ituri
Congo's battle with disarmament
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
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...