Doruma

Doruma
Town
The church in Doruma, home to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Doruma–Dungu.
Doruma Location in Democratic Republic of the Congo
Coordinates: 4°44′N 27°42′E / 4.733°N 27.700°E / 4.733; 27.700
Country	Democratic Republic of the Congo
Province	Orientale
District	Haut-Uele District
Population (2005)
• Total	18,000 (inhabitants & IDPs)
Climate	Aw
National language	Lingala

Doruma is a city in the northeastern regions of the Haut-Uele District, Orientale Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

It is near the border with South Sudan.

The origin of the name Doruma comes from the name Ndoromo or Ndolomo, which is the name of the Azande King who ruled the people in that area prior to the arrival of the Belgian colonialists. Doruma is known for its natural vegetations, especially its thick forests, exotic wild animals and birds. The town is a major supplier of palm oil to nearby towns; such as Ezo, Nzara and Yambio. Doruma is also known for its fragrance rice and delicious oranged-coloured mushrooms which the locals call 'Rute-Mbiro'.

During the later part of December 1990, Doruma became a hosting town for Sudanese refugees who were fleeing a civil war which had reached the towns of Maridi, Yambio, Ezo and Tambura. In 1992, the UNHCR in agreement with the Prince of Doruma and other governmental authority opened the Nambasa Refugees Camp. This camp was situated some several kilometres southward of Doruma town, and it remained opened until October 1998, when the-then rebels of Sudan, SPLA, took advantages of the war which was going on in DRC at the time and entered both the Doruma and Dungu towns.

The SPLA faced little resistance as most of the AFDL soldiers had been transported to the battle front lines such as in Kisangani and other major towns. The rebels SPLA came and told the population that the government of Congo under Laurent Desire Kabila was collaborating with the Sudanese government to transport Sudanese soldiers direct from Khartoum all the way to Dungu and Doruma in order to retake the towns that they had lost. While still in the towns, the SPLA robbed and looted the Catholic Diocese of Dungu-Doruma. They looted the diocese vehicles, motorcycles, bikes and any thing they found valuable. They also forcefully took all the refugees back with them to Sudan. Those refugees who didn't want to return back to a war zone Sudan had to sought a refuge again this time in to the Central African Republic territory. Because these refugees were not only under pressure from the rebels SPLA, but they were also facing the threat of harm at the hands of the Congolese population; who at the time took their anger upon the refugees and blamed them for being the reason why the SPLA rebels came to Doruma and Dungu towns.

The people of Dungu and Doruma in recent times have fallen victims to Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) killing of civilians, house burning and rape.