Bouar

Bouar is a market town in the western Central African Republic, lying on the main road from Bangui (437km) to the frontier with Cameroon (210km). It has a population of 29,753 (2003 census) and is the capital of Nana-Mambéré prefecture. Bouar lies on a plateau almost 1000m above sea level and is known as the site of the Camp Leclerc French military base. Bouar was ceded by France to Germany under the terms of the 1911 Morocco-Congo Treaty, becoming part of the German colony of Neukamerun until it was reconquered by the French during WW1. About seventy groups of megaliths lie in the area of the town and to its north and east.