Bunia

Bunia is the capital city of Ituri Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It was part of the Orientale Province until that province's dissolution. It lies at an elevation of on a plateau about west of Lake Albert in the Albertine Rift, and about east of the Ituri Rainforest. The city is at the center of the Ituri conflict between the Lendu 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 militias and Uganda-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 mines over which militias and foreign forces have been fighting. Climate Bunia has a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen 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.