'Tindouf' (
Arabic: تندوف) is the main town in
Tindouf Province,
Algeria. It is close to several
Algerian military bases, and also to the autonomous areas of the
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, the
government in exile of
Western Sahara, which contains several
Sahrawi refugee camps operated by the
Polisario Front. There is an
airport outside Tindouf, north-west of the town, with regular ''
Air Algérie'' flights to
Algiers and other cities.
''For more on the Sahrawi refugee camps, see
Tindouf Province.''
History
The town of Tindouf was built near an isolated
Saharan oasis in 1852 by members of the
Sahrawi Tajakant tribe, but sacked and destroyed by
Reguibat Sahrawis in 1895. It remained deserted until
French troops arrived in the area in 1934. Since Algerian
independence in 1962, the town has been purposely built up, partly because of its importance as a last outpost before the
Moroccan, and
Mauritanian borders.
External links
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A critical report on the refugee camps and the flooding - By ESISC (European Strategic Intelligence and Security Centre)