Ituri

Ituri is a region located in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Ituri Rainforest is in this area.

The legal status of Ituri is 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 created the new province of Kibali-Ituri out of the eastern section of the northeastern Orientale province. It is almost always referred to simply as Ituri. The capital is Bunia. The creation of a new province under the governorship of a Hema contributed to the start of the current Ituri conflict, that has caused thousands of deaths. Most official cartographers do not include the new province, and those referring to it as a "province" rather than a "region" are sometimes viewed as having a pro-Uganda bias.