Damara is a town located in 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 ...

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 ...

Ombella-M'Poko Ombella-M'Poko is one of the 16 prefectures of the Central African Republic. Its capital is Bimbo. One important tourist attraction is the Falls of Baoli; however, due to the Baoli dam, the falls only carry water on the weekends. Geography Th ...

. It is located about an hour from the national capital,

Bangui Bangui () (or Bangî in Sango, formerly written Bangi in English) is the capital and largest city of the Central African Republic. It was established as a French outpost in 1889 and named after its location on the northern bank of the Uban ...

. In March 2013, rebels from the Séléka Coalition (' means "alliance" in the Sango language) overtook a checkpoint in Damara. Part of the

2012-2013 Central African Republic conflict {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Central African Republic Civil War , image = , caption = Current military situation in Central African Republic (For a detailed map of the current military situation, see ...

, the rebels claimed that

President of the Central African Republic President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

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- ...

had violated the terms of a January cease-fire agreement. After storming the Damara checkpoint, however, the rebels were prevented from taking Bangui by a helicopter attack. "The helicopter opened fire on the column, forcing it to disperse... The rebels have not reached Bangui," said a senior military analyst quoted by

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was est ...

References

Sub-prefectures of the Central African Republic Populated places in Ombella-M'Poko {{CentralAfricanRepublic-geo-stub