| Bétou | |
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Bétou
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| Country | Republic of the Congo |
| Department | Likouala |
| District | Betou |
Bétou is a town on the right bank of the Ubangi River in the Likouala Department, Republic of the Congo. Betou is a "Sous-prefecture" and has its own Mayor. The town has a disused air-strip (IATA: BTB, ICAO: FCOT). Betou is the border town with the Central African Republic (CAR), located approximately 90km from the border by road, or 45km 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 Betou accommodates around 57.000 refugees who have fled ethnic conflict in the Equateur province of DRC (directly opposite across the river Oubangui), of whom just over 10.000 live in the town of Betou itself, with the rest spread throughout numerous small riverside villages. A number of international organisations have established field bases in Betou to assist the refugees (Medecins Sans Frontieres, UNHCR, ACTED).