Bangassou is a city in the south eastern

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

, lying on the north bank of the

Mbomou River The Mbomou River or Bomu (also spelled M'bomou in French) forms part of the boundary between the Central African Republic (CAR) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Mbomou merges with the Uele River to form the Ubangi River. The U ...

. It has a population of 24,447 (2003 census) and is the capital of the

Mbomou :''Mbomou'' can also refer to the Mbomou River. Mbomou is one of the sixteen prefectures of the Central African Republic. It covers an area of and has a population of 132,740 (according to a 2003 census), giving a population density of only 2.2 ...

prefecture. It is known for its wildlife, market, and nearby

Bangassou Airport Bangassou Airport is an airport serving Bangassou, a city on the Mbomou River in the Mbomou prefecture of the Central African Republic. The Mbomou River forms the local border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The airport is northwes ...

and is linked by ferry to the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

on the south bank. The city is also home to the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Bangassou The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bangassou ( la, Bangassuen(sis)) is a suffragan diocese in the Ecclesiastical province of Bangui, which covers all and only the Central African Republic, yet dependent on the missionary Roman Congregation for the Eva ...

. Axmin Mining Camp and

Kembé Falls Kembé Falls (also known as the Kotto Falls) are located on the Kotto River, near Kembé on the road from Bangui to Bangassou Bangassou is a city in the south eastern Central African Republic, lying on the north bank of the Mbomou River. It has ...

are located in the area.

History

During the French colonial occupation of

Congo Free State ''(Work and Progress) , national_anthem = Vers l'avenir , capital = Vivi Boma , currency = Congo Free State franc , religion = Catholicism (''de facto'') , leader1 = Leop ...

, the French military established a base at Bangassou. In 1922 the Spiritains established a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

mission in the town. In 1931 the société cotonnière Comouna built a cotton processing plant in the town. In 1935 the town became the capital of the Department of

Civil war

On 11 March 2013 Seleka rebels occupied the town. On 10 October 2013 leader of Seleka fighters and 30 rebels who were occupying the town were arrested by authorities. In May 2017 Anti-balaka attacked and for a few days occupied the town resulting in more than 100 deaths. On January 3, 2021, rebel fighters backed by

François Bozizé François Bozizé Yangouvonda (born 14 October 1946) is a Central African politician who was President of the Central African Republic from 2003 to 2013. Bozizé rose to become a high-ranking army officer in the 1970s, under the rule of Jean- ...

captured the town, according to

MINUSCA United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (also called MINUSCA, which is an initialism of its French name Mission multidimensionnelle intégrée des Nations unies pour la stabilisation en Ce ...

. They withdrew from the town on 16 January and moved towards

Niakari Niakari is a village located in the Central African Republic prefecture of Mbomou nort of Bangassou. History Civil war On 17 January 2021 fighters of Coalition of Patriots for Change led by Mahamat Salleh departured city of Bangassou Banga ...

.Letter dated 25 June 2021 from the Panel of Experts on the Central African Republic extended pursuant to resolution 2536 (2020) addressed to the President of the Security Council
/ref>

Climate

Bangassou has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

''Aw''). Although the

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The ...

from December to February is very short and more typical of

tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ...

s, the lengthy

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the Rainy season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. It is the time of year where the majority of a country's or region's annual precipitation occurs. Generally, the sea ...

from March to November is not sufficiently wet to so qualify.

Gallery

File:Cathédrale Saint Pierre Claver Bangassou.JPG, San Pedro Claver Cathedral, seat of the

File:Palacio Justicia Bangassou.JPG, Bangassou courthouse File:Buen Samaritano Bangassou.JPG, AIDS hospice, run in association with the diocese File:Sultan and his wives at Bangassou, 1906.png, Sultan and his wives at Bangassou, 1906 File:Near Bangassou, 1906.png, Near Bangassou, 1906

References

{{Sub-prefectures of the Central African Republic Sub-prefectures of the Central African Republic Central African Republic–Democratic Republic of the Congo border crossings Populated places in Mbomou