El Aaiún
| El Aaiún العيون al-ʾAyūn |
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|---|---|
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  El Aaiún
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Western Sahara |
| Claimed by | Morocco, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic |
| Controlled by | Morocco |
| Population (2009) | |
| - Total | 194,668 |
El-Aaiún (also transliterated "Laâyoune" or "El Ayun"; Arabic: العيون, transliterated al-ʾAyūn, lit. "The Springs"), is a city in Western Sahara founded by the Spanish in 1928. Occupied by Morocco since 1976[1], El-Aaiún is the capital of the Moroccan region of Laâyoune-Boujdour-Sakia El Hamra. It is also claimed by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as their de jure capital.
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Demographics
The city has a population of 194,668[2] and is the largest city in Western Sahara. It is a growing economic pole in what Morocco sees as its Southern Provinces. Its population is a mixture of Moroccans from the North as well as Sahrawis from Southern Saharan Morocco and natives of Western Sahara.
Etymology
"El Aaiún" is the transliteration of the Arabic name used as the Spanish name for the city. "Laâyoune" is a French transliteration even used in Moroccan literature. The Arabic name means "the springs".
Status
The United Nations mission for the referendum, turned to simply wait for a political solution, instead of referendum which was obsolete after the UN voted for the last resolution 1813 MINURSO, which administers the ceasefire settlement of 1991 between Morocco and the Polisario Front, has its headquarters in the city.
Climate
| Climate data for Laâyoune" also "El Ayun" | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 20 (68) |
20 (68) |
22 (72) |
22 (72) |
22 (72) |
24 (75) |
26 (79) |
28 (82) |
27 (81) |
25 (77) |
24 (75) |
20 (68) |
23 (73) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 16 (61) |
17 (63) |
19 (66) |
18 (64) |
20 (68) |
21 (70) |
23 (73) |
25 (77) |
24 (75) |
22 (72) |
20 (68) |
17 (63) |
20 (68) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 12 (54) |
13 (55) |
16 (61) |
15 (59) |
16 (61) |
18 (64) |
20 (68) |
21 (70) |
20 (68) |
18 (64) |
16 (61) |
13 (55) |
17 (63) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 17.97 (0.7075) |
18.51 (0.7287) |
6.74 (0.2654) |
2.54 (0.1) |
3.21 (0.1264) |
0.31 (0.0122) |
0.0 (0) |
0.0 (0) |
1.21 (0.0476) |
7.47 (0.2941) |
16.90 (0.6654) |
18.60 (0.7323) |
93.46 (3.6795) |
| Avg. precipitation days | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 18 |
| Source: Weatherbase[3] | |||||||||||||
Sport
A football club in El Aaiun is Jeunesse Massira. The club played in the Botola/GNF 1. Jeunesse Massira use Mohamed Laghdaf stadium in training and games.
References
- ↑ UN General Assembly Resolution 34/37 and UN General Assembly Resolution 35/19.
- ↑ Stefan Helders (2009). "Morocco - largest cities (per geographical entity)" (in English). World Gazetteer. http://www.world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&lng=de&dat=32&geo=-70&srt=npan&col=aohdq&men=gcis&lng=en. Retrieved 2009-03-25.
- ↑ "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for El Aaiún". http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weatherall.php3?s=33006&refer=&units=metric.