Bétou

Bétou
Bétou Location in the Republic of the Congo
Coordinates: 3°05′N 18°32′E / 3.083°N 18.533°E
Country	Republic of the Congo
Department	Likouala
District	Dongou

Bétou is a town on the right bank of the Ubangi River in the Likouala Department, Republic of the Congo. Bétou is a "sous-prefecture" and has its own mayor. The town has a disused air-strip (IATA: BTB, ICAO: FCOT). Bétou is the border town with the Central African Republic (CAR), located approximately 90 km (56 mi) from the border by road, or 45 km (28 mi) by river. The town is linked to Bangui, the capital of CAR, by a relatively good road, but suffers from very poor road access to the south of the Republic of Congo, with the vast majority of travellers arriving by river.

The town is dominated by a large Italian-run timber factory which is the area's major employer. Since late 2009, according to the UNHCR, the district of Bétou accommodates around 57,000 refugees who have fled the Dongo conflict in the Équateur Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (directly opposite across the Ubangi River), of whom just over 10,000 live in the town of Bétou itself, with the rest spread throughout numerous small riverside villages. A number of international organisations have established field bases in Bétou to assist the refugees (Médecins Sans Frontières, UNHCR, ACTED).

Coordinates: 3°04′N 18°30′E / 3.067°N 18.500°E