Laayoune

History

Laayoune or El Aaiún are respectively the French and Spanish transliterations of one of the possible Romanized Maghrebi Arabic names for the city: Layoun, which could mean "the springs", in reference to the oases that furnish the town's water supply.

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. 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 harbors 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.

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, Laayoune, along with much of the rest of the Western Sahara, was annexed by Morocco. 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.

The city has continued to develop rapidly and benefits of a 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.

Climate

Laayoune has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh), moderated by the Canary Current, with an average annual temperature just over 21 °C. |Jan record high C = 32.9 |Feb record high C = 36.7 |Mar record high C = 39.8 |Apr record high C = 41.6 |May record high C = 46.2 |Jun record high C = 45.9 |Jul record high C = 46.6 |Aug record high C = 47.0 |Sep record high C = 45.0 |Oct record high C = 42.1 |Nov record high C = 36.9 |Dec record high C = 32.8 |year record high C = 47.0 |Jan record low C = 6.2 |Feb record low C = 6.9 |Mar record low C = 8.9 |Apr record low C = 10.5 |May record low C = 12.0 |Jun record low C = 13.6 |Jul record low C = 16.2 |Aug record low C = 16.0 |Sep record low C = 14.0 |Oct record low C = 12.3 |Nov record low C = 8.5 |Dec record low C = 7.0 |year record low C = 6.2 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231005212325/https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/4.4/data/0-data/Region-1-WMO-Normals-9120/Morocco/CSV/LAAYOUNE_60033.csv | archive-date = October 5, 2023 | access-date = October 5, 2023}}{{cite web | archive-date = August 4, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210804082852/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1981-2010/RA-I/Morocco/WMO_Normals_ASCII_60033.csv | url-status = dead

Climate change

A 2019 paper published in PLOS One estimated that under Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5, a "moderate" scenario of climate change where global warming reaches ~2.5-3 C-change by 2100, the climate of Laayoune in the year 2050 would most closely resemble the current climate of Alexandria. The annual temperature would increase by 1 C-change, and the temperature of the warmest month by 1.8 C-change, while the temperature of the coldest month would decrease by 0.1 C-change. According to Climate Action Tracker, the current warming trajectory appears consistent with 2.7 C-change, which closely matches RCP 4.5.

Demographics

| 1982 | 93,875 | 1994 | 136,950 | 2004 | 183,691 | 2014 | 217,732 | 2023 | 271,344 Laayoune has a population of 271,344 and is the largest city in Western Sahara.

Economy and status

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

Sport

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.

Transport

Laayoune is served by the international Hassan I Airport.

Education

French school associated to the Alliance française was established in 2018, the city also includes a Spanish international school, Colegio Español La Paz, owned by the Spanish government.{{Cite news|last=Santana|first=Txema|date=2015-04-10|title=El colegio español en El Aaiún pide ciclo de secundaria|language=es|work=El País|url=https://elpais.com/politica/2015/04/10/actualidad/1428695751_759093.html|access-date=2023-02-07|issn=1134-6582|quote=Lagadaf Lahsen, presidente del AMPA del centro educativo, asegura que es “la única forma de evitar” que sus hijos “se vayan a otras ciudades de Marruecos o a Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, además de que no se pierda el español en el Sáhara”." and "[...]una instalación de 17.000 metros cuadrados que es propiedad del Estado español[...]

Diplomatic missions

On 18 December 2019, Comoros became the first nation to open a consulate in support of Moroccan claims to the region. In January 2020, Gabon opened also a general consulate. Later on, São Tomé and Príncipe, the Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Burundi, Eswatini, Zambia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain, also opened consulates in the city.

Gallery

File:Mosque moulay abd el aziz laayoune.jpg|Mosque of Moulay Abd el Aziz File:Laayoune Cathedral 2011.jpg|Spanish Cathedral of Saint Francis of Assisi File:Street view from Laayoune 2011.jpg|Avenue Mekka File:Monumental Arch, Laayoune.jpg|One entrance of the city File:Road to Laayoune Port.jpg|Road to El Marsa, the harbour of the city. File:Laayoune Bus Station.jpg|Laâyoune bus station.

References

References

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