In 2023, Laayoune is the capital of theLaâyoune-Sakia El Hamra region administered by Morocco, it is still under the supervision ofMINURSO, aUN mission.
The town is located south of the dry river ofSaguia el-Hamra, where the old lower town constructed by Spanish colonists is located.[10] TheSt. Francis of Assisi Cathedral was constructed during the Spanish period and is still active with a few Catholic missionaries.
History
Laayoune orEl Aaiún are respectively the French and Spanish transliterations of one of the possible RomanizedMaghrebi Arabic names for the city:Layoun, which could mean "the springs", in reference to the oases that furnish the town's water supply.[11]
The city was founded by theSpanish captainAntonio de Oro in 1938 as a small military outpost, but quickly became theSpanish 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 theSaguia el-Hamra river enabled good communication with the harbors ofTarfaya andBoujdour. The city underwent a period of rapid economic growth in the 1940s due to the discovery of vast deposits ofphosphates at theBou Craa site fuelling a phosphate industry.[10]
The town was the scene of theZemla 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.[citation needed]
After the Spanish withdrew in 1975, Laayoune, along with much of the rest of the Western Sahara, wasannexed by Morocco.[10] Since then, large numbers of Moroccans have moved to the city, and now outnumber the indigenousSahrawis, who have gradually given up their traditionalnomadic lifestyles.[10]
The city has continued to develop rapidly and benefits of adesalinization plant. The city's rate ofurbanization continues to outpace that of Morocco, though on most indicators ofhuman development, it lags behind southern Morocco.[10]
A 2019 paper published inPLOS One estimated that underRepresentative Concentration Pathway 4.5, a "moderate" scenario ofclimate change where global warming reaches ~2.5–3 °C (4.5–5.4 °F) by 2100, the climate of Laayoune in the year 2050 would most closely resemble the current climate ofAlexandria. The annual temperature would increase by 1 °C (1.8 °F), and the temperature of the warmest month by 1.8 °C (3.2 °F), while the temperature of the coldest month would decrease by 0.1 °C (0.18 °F).[14][15] According toClimate Action Tracker, the current warming trajectory appears consistent with 2.7 °C (4.9 °F), which closely matches RCP 4.5.[16]
Demographics
Laayoune has a population of 271,344[1] and is the largest city in Western Sahara.
The city is a hub for fishing and forphosphate mining in the region.[18] In 2010, the country was negotiating a new fishing agreement with Europe over offshore fishing.[citation needed]
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.[19]
^Santana, Txema (2015-04-10)."El colegio español en El Aaiún pide ciclo de secundaria".El País (in Spanish).ISSN1134-6582. Retrieved2023-02-07.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[...]
