Bria is the capital of

Haute-Kotto Haute-Kotto is one of the 16 prefectures of the Central African Republic. Its capital is Bria. It is the largest prefecture in the Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in C ...

, one of the 14

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

s of the

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 ...

. As of the 2003 census the town had a population of 35,204.

Geography

Bria is located on the

Kotto River The Kotto River (or Koto River) is a tributary of the Oubangui River in the Central African Republic. Its source is on the south side of the Bongo Massif, near Mount Toussoro on the border between the Central African Republic and Sudan. It flows ...

History

Civil war

On 18 December 2012 Bria was captured by

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� ...

rebels. On 21 November 2016 an armed conflict broke out between the ethnicities Gula and Peuhl representing different armed groups resulting in death of 92 people, many more injured and 12000 refugees around the UN camp outside the city. On 18 May 2017 heavy clashes erupted between Anti-balaka and ex-Seleka in Bria resulting in 26 deaths. On 21 June 2017 clashes between rival factions resulting in death of around 100 people. On 4 December 2017 Anti-balaka fighters led by

Jean-Francis Diandi Jean-Francis Diandi alias Ramazani is an Anti-balaka militia leader from Bria, Central African Republic. War He was responsible for killing a Mauritanian peacekeeper on 4 December 2017. He was arrested on 16 March 2018 by peacekeeping forces a ...

attacked international forces in Bria killing one Mauritanian peacekeeper. On 16 March 2018 Jean-Francis Diandi was arrested by peacekeepers. On 6 September 2018

rebels killed a number of people, most of them women. On 25-6 January 2020 MLCJ attacked Bria capturing more than 60% of the city after 24 hours of clashes with FPRC. On 28 January both groups signed ceasefire promising to withdraw fighters from parts of the town. On 22 March 2021 Bria was recaptured by government forces. One FPRC fighter was killed. On 2 April rebels launched attack on Bria which was repelled, two rebels and one soldier were killed. Since December 15, 2021, Russian mercenaries from the

Wagner Group The Wagner Group (russian: Группа Вагнера, Gruppa Vagnera), also known as PMC Wagner ( «Вагнер», ChVK «Vagner»; ), is a Russian paramilitary organization. It is variously described as a private military company (PMC), a ...

have arrested numerous people – mainly youths – inside the town, leading to reported human rights abuses. On January 4, the Wagner Group gunned down young people in a massacre. At 5:00 P.M. mercenaries entered the local mosque and removed the corpses of their victims from the building.

Climate

Bria 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 p ...

(

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, notabl ...

''Aw''), with a lengthy though not intense

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 mid-March to October and a relatively short and mostly rainless

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 te ...

from November to mid-March. Although the wet season is longer than the dry season, the dry season is sufficiently dry and the wet season insufficiently wet for tropical monsoon classification.

Infrastructure

Bria Airport Bria Airport is an airport serving Bria, a town on the Kotto River in the Haute-Kotto prefecture of the Central African Republic. The airport is in the southern section of the town. The Bria VOR (Ident: IA) is located on the field. See also * ...

References

Sub-prefectures of the Central African Republic Populated places in Haute-Kotto {{CentralAfricanRepublic-geo-stub