Birao
| Birao | |
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Birao after being burnt down during the Central African Republic Civil War (2012–present)
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 Birao
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| Coordinates: 10°17′38″N 22°46′55″E / 10.294°N 22.782°ECoordinates: 10°17′38″N 22°46′55″E / 10.294°N 22.782°E | |
| Country |
 Central African Republic
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| Prefecture | Vakaga |
| Elevation | 468 m (1,536 ft) |
| Population (2012) | |
| • Total | 10,178 |
Birao is the capital of Vakaga, one of the 14 prefectures of the Central African Republic and was an administrative post in the colony of Ubangui-Shari. In March 2007, the town was almost completely burnt down in the fighting between rebels and government troops in the area. As of December 1, 2010, Birao was controlled by the army of Chad, on behalf of the government of the Central African Republic.
Jean-Bédel Bokassa, the military ruler of the Central African Republic in the 1960s and 1970s, sent the family of Alexandre Banza to Birao after Banza attempted to overthrow him. Birao was isolated from the rest of the country and Banza's family was monitored by Bokassa. Banza's wife and nine children were kept in Birao until 1970. Beouane and Goboulo, Banza's two brothers, were also kept in Birao, but were soon imprisoned.
Birao was considered an undesirable place to be sent; the "disciplinary cells" in the Ngarabga Prison run by Bokassa were called Birao. Later, after Bokassa had fallen from power and his execution sentence had been commuted, sending Bokassa to Birao was considered a possibility because the remote location of the place would separate him from his political allies.
In November 2004, at least 20 people were killed in a raid on the remote town of Birao in the north-east of the Central African Republic.
On October 29, 2006, a force of around 150 rebels took the town of Birao, which is close to the border with Sudan and Chad. The rebels from the UFDR movement say some government troops joined them, and others were taken prisoner. The CAR government accused Sudan of being behind that attack.
On November 14, France, the traditional backer of the CAR government, offered the CAR military assistance in the form of logistics and aerial reconnaissance. France already has a regular 200-soldier contingent in the CAR whose strength is comparable to the CAR's ill-equipped 5,000-soldier army. On that day, the UFDR announced that they had suspended military activities in favour of negotiations.
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