Nord-Kivu

Infobox DRCongo Province
country = Democratic Republic of the Congo
native_name = Province du Nord-Kivu
common_name = Nord-Kivu
capital = Goma
largest_city = Goma
national_language = French, Swahili
population_density = 59.92
population_estimate = 3,564,434
governor = Julien Paluku Kahongya


pop_year = 1998
area = 59,483
area_scale = 10
districts = 1
cities = 3
demonym = North Kivutian
website = http://www.provincenordkivu.org/




image_logo_size = None

Nord-Kivu (also Kivu-Nord, North Kivu) is a province bordering Lake Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Its provincial capital is Goma.

Geography

It borders Orientale to the north-west, Maniema to the west, and Sud-Kivu to the south. To the east it borders Uganda and Rwanda.

The province consists of three towns — Goma, Butembo and Beni — and six territories — Beni, Lubero, Masisi, Nyiragongo, Rutshuru and Walikali. The province is home to the Virunga National Park, a World Heritage Site containing the endangered Mountain Gorillas.

History

The region was the scene of much fighting during the Second Congo War (1998–2003).

Human rights issues

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. [cite news |title=DR Congo: UN agency concerned at military buildup in North Kivu |url=http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=24198&Cr=DRC&Cr1= |publisher=UN News Service |date= 2007-10-05 |accessdate=2007-10-06 ]

References

External links

* [http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/fullMaps_Af.nsf/5b3f56ab63e9d040412569ce004f4e30/3b95e6094877e20f85256dd3006ffa8b/$FILE/ocha_drcNKivu031103.pdf Map of North Kivu]