| Nord-Kivu Province du Nord-Kivu |
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|---|---|
| — Province — | |
| Country | Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Capital | Goma |
| Largest city | Goma |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Julien Paluku Kahongya |
| Area | |
| • Total | 59,483 km2 (22,966.5 sq mi) |
| Population (2010 est.) | |
| • Total | 5,767,945 |
| • Density | 97/km2 (251.1/sq mi) |
| Demonym | North Kivutian |
| National language | Swahili |
| Districts | 5 |
| Cities | 3 |
| Website | provincenordkivu.org |
Nord-Kivu (also Kivu-Nord, or North Kivu in English) is a province bordering Lake Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Its capital is Goma.
Following the 2005 Constitution (effective 18 February 2006), 25 new provinces were to be created from the 10 current provinces within 36 months (18 February 2009). As of October 2010, this had not taken place.[1] Nord-Kivu would be one of three provinces to retain its present name and boundaries (the others being Sud-Kivu and Maniema), along with the city-province of Kinshasa.
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Nord-Kivu borders the provinces of the Orientale to the north (proposed Ituri Province) and northwest (proposed Tshopo Province), Maniema to the southwest, and Sud-Kivu to the south. To the east it borders the countries of Uganda and Rwanda.
The province consists of three cities—Goma, Butembo and Beni—and six territories—Beni, Lubero, Masisi, Rutshuru, Nyiragongo and Walikale. The province is home to the Virunga National Park, a World Heritage Site containing the endangered Mountain Gorillas.
| Name | Pop. 2010[2] | Coordinates[2] |
|---|---|---|
| Beni | 95,407 | |
| Butembo | 204,452 | |
| Goma | 377,112 | |
| Kanyabayonga | 29,936 | |
| Katwa | 60,591 | |
| Kayna | 34,653 | |
| Kirumba | 35,290 | |
| Lubero | 28,293 | |
| Mangina | 37,594 | |
| Masisi | 6,502 | |
| Oicha | 50,559 | |
| Rutshuru | 56,066 | |
| Walikale | 9,903 |
North Kivu was formerly a "sub-region" in the region of Kivu.
The region was the scene of much fighting during the Second Congo War (1998–2003), and the Kivu conflict (2004–present).
In 2003 the Eighth Military Region of the new Congo Government's FARDC was established covering the province. Brigadier General Vainqueur Mayala is the current military region commander.[3] During late 2008, the FARDC maintained its dismal record in combat against Laurent Nkunda's CNDP faction, losing the Rumangabo military camp to the rebels.
The dissident Mai-Mai 85th Brigade, commanded by Colonel Samy Matumo, controls the cassiterite mine at Bisie, just north of Manoire in Walikale, in the south-east of North Kivu.[4] The former RCD-K/ML also has fighters in the province; 'at the beginning of the transition [2002-3] the RCD-Mouvement de Libération president declared he had 8-10,000 Armée Patriotic Congolaise (APC) troops in the Beni-Lubero area of North Kivu.’ This exaggerated figure now seems to have been reduced to ‘several thousand’ (2-4,000?) as of early 2006 following demobilizations and men joining the integrated brigades.[5]
In October 2007, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warned of an increasing number of internally displaced people (IDP) in North Kivu related to the fighting there between the government army, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) rebels and renegade troops, including Laurent Nkunda's forces, and a build-up of military supplies and forces, including the reported recruitment of child soldiers by armed groups across North Kivu. The UNHCR thought that there were over 370,000 people in North Kivu displaced since December 2006, and is expanding its camps in the Mugunga area where over 80,000 IDPs were estimated.[6]
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