Paoua is a town located in the Central African Republic

Central African Republic

The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...

 prefecture

Prefectures of the Central African Republic

There are also two economic prefectures:The national capital, Bangui, comprises a commune which lies outside the prefectures.The prefectures are further subdivided into seventy-one sub-prefectures.-Sources:*...

 of Ouham-Pendé

Ouham-Pendé

Ouham-Pendé is one of the 14 prefectures of the Central African Republic. Its capital is Bozoum. The region contains several ghost towns such as Goroumo, Beogombo Deux and Paoua due to government forces ransacking them and armed bandits killing all the male inhabitants over the years from 2005 to...

. Paoua and its surrounding territories have become something of a ghost town

Ghost town

A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...

 after rebel and government soldier attacks in 2006 and 2007, with much of the population fleeing into the bush or into refugee camps.

The town is the birthplace of former president of the Republic Ange-Félix Patassé

Ange-Félix Patassé

Ange-Félix Patassé was a Central African politician who was President of the Central African Republic from 1993 until 2003, when he was deposed by the rebel leader François Bozizé...

.