El Aaiun << EHL ah YOON >> (pop. 212,474), also called Aiun or Laayoune, is the principal city of Western Sahara, a territory in northwestern Africa. El Aaiun lies about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the Atlantic Ocean. The city and its nearby port are important shipping centers for phosphates, the major mineral product of the area.
The modern city of El Aaiun was founded in 1940 by Spanish military forces. However, a settlement had existed there much earlier. Spain controlled the El Aaiun area from the early 1900’s until 1976, when it withdrew and ceded the area to Morocco. But a local Western Saharan group called the Polisario Front opposed Morocco’s control (see Western Sahara for details). The Moroccan government has worked to develop El Aaiun. It has built new schools and hospitals and replaced many traditional mud-brick buildings with modern houses and apartment buildings.
