Bouna (also spelled Buna) is a town in north-eastern Ivory Coast. It is a sub-prefecture of and the seat of Bouna Department. It is also the seat of Bounkani Region in Zanzan District and a commune.
Near Bouna is the Comoé National Park and the Ghanaian border. The main town of the Lobi people, Bouna is known for the vernacular architecture of the fortress-style adobe compounds in surrounding villages. The town is served by its own dirt-runway airport. This bush landing strip mainly serves the United Nations. In 2021, the population of the sub-prefecture of Bouna was 94,883.
Bouna was a "highly centralized kingdom based on military districts administered by princes" who exploited the local gold deposits. Like Kong, it became a major center of Islamic learning. as well as the Muslim scholars driven out of the Ashanti court in the 1820s.
Knowing this setback would prompt an aggressive British response, the French sent Capt. , at the head of an armed column, to try to acquire Bouna by negotiation. Saranken Mori initially accepted. Ture was defeated and captured the next year.
Post-Independence
Bouna was one of the main strongholds of the Forces Nouvelles de Côte d'Ivoire, the rebel army of the 2002 attempted coup d'état. The general population of Bouna suffered greatly in the early days of the rebellion.
Villages
The one hundred and twenty four villages of the sub-prefecture of Bouna and their population in 2014 are: