Bria is the capital of

Haute-Kotto Haute-Kotto (, "Upper Kotto") is one of the 20 prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdiv ...

, one of the 14

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''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 inter ...

s of 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 ...

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

Geography

Bria is located on the Kotto River.

History

In 1930, a ginning factory was established in Bria by the Comouna cotton company.

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 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 the 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 15 December 2021, Russian mercenaries from the

Wagner Group The Wagner Group (), officially known as PMC Wagner (, ), is a Russian state-funded private military company (PMC) controlled 2023 Wagner Group plane crash, until 2023 by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former close ally of Russia's president Vladimir Pu ...

have arrested numerous people – mainly youths – inside the town, leading to reported human rights abuses. On 4 January, 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 ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

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

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the rainy season or monsoon season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Generally, the season lasts at least one month. The term ''green season'' is also sometimes used a ...

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 t ...

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

References