Tindouf
Tindouf (Arabic: تندوف, romanized: Tindūf) is the main town, and a commune in Tindouf Province, Algeria, close to the Mauritanian, Western Saharan and Moroccan borders. The commune has a population of around 160,000, but the census and population estimates do not count the Sahrawi refugees, making the population as of the 2008 census 45,966, up from 25,266 in 1998, giving the town an annual population growth rate of 6.3%.
Tindouf
تندوف | |
|---|---|
Commune and town | |
Tindouf in the 1970s | |
Location of Tindouf commune within Tindouf Province | |
Tindouf Location of Tindouf within Algeria | |
| Coordinates: 27°40′31″N 8°07′43″W | |
| Country | Algeria |
| Province | Tindouf (seat) |
| District | Tindouf (coextensive) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 70,009 km2 (27,031 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 400 m (1,300 ft) |
| Population (2008) | |
| • Total | 150,000 (of which 45,966 are not people living in the Sahrawi refugee camps) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| Postal code | 37000 |
| Climate | BWh |
The region is considered of strategic significance as it houses Algerian military bases and an airport with regular flights to Algiers, as well as flights to other domestic destinations. The settlement of Garet Djebilet lies within the municipal territory of Tindouf near the border with Mauritania; the settlement has an iron mine and a defunct airport, and is approximately 70 kilometres (43 mi) northwest of Âouinet Bel Egrâ. Since 1975, it also contains several Sahrawi refugee camps operated by the Polisario Front, a national liberation movement seeking the self-determination of Western Sahara.