Laayoune

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.[11]

The city was founded by the Spanish captain Antonio de Oro in 1938 as a small military outpost, but quickly became the Spanish Sahara's administrative and political centre.[10] The location was chosen for two reasons: the presence of water and the strategic military position the site offered. Its position on the banks of the Saguia el-Hamra river enabled good communication with the ports of Tarfaya and Boujdour. The city underwent a period of rapid economic growth in the 1940s due to the discovery of vast deposits of phosphates at the Bou Craa site fuelling a phosphate industry.[10]

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 and hundreds injured.

After the Spanish withdrew in 1975, Laâyoune, along with much of the rest of the Western Sahara, was annexed by Morocco.[10] Since then, large numbers of Moroccans have moved to the city, and now outnumber the indigenous Sahrawis, who have gradually given up their traditional nomadic lifestyles.[10]

The city has continued to develop rapidly since then, indicated by the construction of 185 new schools and a new desalinization plant. The city's rate of urbanization continues to outpace that of Morocco, though on most indicators of human development, it lags behind southern Morocco.[10]

Laayoune has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh), moderated by the Canary Current, with an average annual temperature just over 21 °C (70 °F).

Laayoune has a population of 271,344[1] and is the largest city in Western Sahara.

The city is a hub for fishing and for phosphate mining in the region.[17] In 2010, the country was negotiating a new fishing agreement with Europe over offshore fishing.

The football club of the city is Jeunesse Massira. The club plays in the Moroccan Second Division, the second highest football league in the country. Jeunesse Massira uses Stade Sheikh Mohamed Laghdaf for training and games.

Laayoune is served by Hassan I Airport.

Schools in Laâyoune include a Spanish international school, Colegio Español La Paz, owned by the Spanish government.[18]

On 18 December 2019, Comoros became the first nation to open a consulate in Laayoune in support of Moroccan claims to Western Sahara.[19] In January 2020, Gabon opened a consulate general in Laayoune.[20] Later on, São Tomé and Príncipe,[21] the Central African Republic,[22] Ivory Coast,[23] Burundi,[24] Eswatini,[25] Zambia,[26] the United Arab Emirates,[27] and Bahrain,[28] also opened consulates in Laayoune.

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  Mosque of Moulay Abd el Aziz
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  The old Spanish Cathedral of Saint Francis of Assisi, chiefly serves European UN personnel
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  Avenue Makkah al-Mukarramah
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  Monumental arch near the airport
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  Road to Laayoune Port
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  Laayoune bus station.

• List of cities in Western Sahara

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