Bambari is a town in the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...

, lying on the Ouaka River. It has a population of 41,356 (2003 census) and is the capital of Ouaka prefecture. Bambari is an important

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

and home to Bambari Airport, and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bambari.

History

Bambari was electrified in 1970. On 23 December 2012 Bambari was captured by rebels from

Séléka Séléka CPSK-CPJP-UFDR was an alliance of rebel militia groups that subjugated the Central African Republic (CAR) on 24 March 2013. After its official dissolution in September 2013, the remaining rebel groups became known as Ex-Séléka. Sél� ...

coalition. On 24 June 2014 100

Anti-balaka The Anti-balaka (''anti-machete'') is an alliance of militia groups based in the Central African Republic in the early 21st century said by ''the Guardian'' to be composed primarily of Christians, but also some Muslims. However, some church leade ...

fighters attacked Bambari. 46 people were killed and 28 wounded. In 2015 it was reported that Bambari was split with Anti-balaka controlling the part west of Oukana river and ex-Seleka controlling the eastern part of the city. On 22 February 2017 Ali Darassa and most rebels from Union for Peace in the Central African Republic withdrew from Bambari. Anti-balaka leader followed shortly after. On 10 January 2019 UPC rebels attacked Bambari. The attack was repelled after seven days of battle by government and international forces. More than 40 rebels were killed. On 8 December 2020 clashes erupted between FACA and UPC rebels in Bambari resulting in a few rebels being killed. On 22 December UPC took control of Bambari. They withdrew a day after, but later returned. Government forces finally fully recaptured Bambari on 18 February 2021.

Climate

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as tropical wet and dry (Aw).

Mining

Large deposits of

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

have been discovered in the vicinity of Bambari, though the considerable distance to the sea—1500 km—probably makes exploitatation of these reserves doubtful in the near future. A heavy duty

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

and a deepwater

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

in a neighbouring country would be required. The mining resource also includes iron deposits at Bakala.

References

{{Ouaka Sub-prefectures of the Central African Republic Populated places in Ouaka

History

Climate

Mining

See also

References