Orientale Province

For the lunar surface feature, see Mare Orientale.

Orientale (also Oriental; formerly Haut-Zaïre, then Haut-Congo) is one of the ten Provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It lies in the northeast of the country, and its provincial capital is Kisangani. It borders Equateur Province to the west, Kasai-Oriental Province to the southwest, Maniema Province to the south, and Nord-Kivu Province to the southeast. It also borders the Central African Republic and Sudan to the north, and Uganda to the east.

The Ituri district of Orientale was the scene of Ituri conflict.

History

In 1998 the Orientale villages of Durba and Watsa were the center of an outbreak of Marburg hemorrhagic fever among gold mine workers.

Post-2005 Constitution devolution of Orientale

The 2005 Constitution proposes to divide Orientale Province into four new provinces, based on its subregions:

• Ituri
• Haut-Uele
• Tshopo
• Bas-Uele

There was to be a referendum to accept the constitution in February 2006.

External links

• CDC "Map of the Democratic Republic of the Congo indicating the neighboring villages of Durba and Watsa, the epicenter of the 1998 outbreak of Marburg hemorrhagic fever."
• Site of the province (Gouverneur and provnce assembly), in french