El Aaiún (Laayoune)
Laâyoune (, also , ) or El Aaiún ( , ; Hassaniya Arabic: لعيون, romanized: Laʕyūn/Elʕyūn; ⵍⵄⵢⵓⵏ; العيون) is the largest city of the disputed territory of Western Sahara, with a population of 217,732 in 2014. The city is under de facto administration by Morocco. The modern city is thought to have been founded by the Spanish captain Antonio de Oro in 1938. In 1940, Spain designated it as the capital of the Spanish Sahara. Laâyoune is the capital of the Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra region administered by Morocco, under the supervision of the UN peacekeeping mission MINURSO.
The town is divided in two by the dry river of Saguia el-Hamra. On the south side is the old lower town, constructed by Spanish colonists. A cathedral from that era is still active; its priests serve this city and Dakhla further south.
Laâyoune or El Aaiún are respectively the French and Spanish transliterations of one of the possible Romanized Maghrebi Arabic names for the city: Layoun, which means "the springs", in reference to the oases that furnish the town's water supply.
The town was the scene of the Zemla Intifada that occurred on June 17, 1970, that culminated in a massacre, resulting in the deaths ranging from 2 to 11 people.
The town is divided in two by the dry river of Saguia el-Hamra. On the south side is the old lower town, constructed by Spanish colonists. A cathedral from that era is still active; its priests serve this city and Dakhla further south.
Laâyoune or El Aaiún are respectively the French and Spanish transliterations of one of the possible Romanized Maghrebi Arabic names for the city: Layoun, which means "the springs", in reference to the oases that furnish the town's water supply.
The town was the scene of the Zemla Intifada that occurred on June 17, 1970, that culminated in a massacre, resulting in the deaths ranging from 2 to 11 people.
Map - El Aaiún (Laayoune)
Map
Country - Western_Sahara
Occupied by Spain until 1975, Western Sahara has been on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories since 1963 after a Moroccan demand. It is the most populous territory on that list, and by far the largest in area. In 1965, the United Nations General Assembly adopted its first resolution on Western Sahara, asking Spain to decolonize the territory. One year later, a new resolution was passed by the General Assembly requesting that a referendum be held by Spain on self-determination. In 1975, Spain relinquished administrative control of the territory to a joint administration by Morocco, which had formally claimed the territory since 1957 and Mauritania. A war erupted between those countries and a Sahrawi nationalist movement, the Polisario Front, which proclaimed itself the rightful leadership of the SADR with a government in exile in Tindouf, Algeria. Mauritania withdrew its claims in 1979, and Morocco eventually secured de facto control of most of the territory, including all major cities and most natural resources. The United Nations considers the Polisario Front to be the legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people, and maintains that the Sahrawis have a right to self-determination.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAD | Moroccan dirham | د م. | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| AR | Arabic language |