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Tindouf
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Rows of simple, flat-roofed buildings and shelters stretch across the sandy landscape of Boujdour Camp, Tindouf, Algeria, under a clear sky.
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Boujdour Refugee Camp
Boujdour Refugee Camp View of the Boujdour camp, part of the Sahrawi refugee settlements, Tindouf, April 5, 2018.

Tindouf

Algeria
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As peacekeepers leave Western Sahara, refugees yearn to end a half-century wait • Nov. 2, 2026, 5:27 AM ET (Straits Times)

Tindouf, remote town and oasis in the Sahara in westernmost Algeria. Its strategic location near the borders of Morocco, Mauritania, and Western Sahara has given it considerable regional importance. Since the 1970s it has been closely associated with the Western Sahara conflict between Morocco and the Polisario Front (a politico-military organization seeking Western Sahara’s independence from Morocco), which is backed by Algeria and outlawed in Morocco. Pop. (2008) 49,149.

Geography

Tindouf lies within a hammada, a type of desert terrain common in the Sahara, characterized by barren, hard, rocky plateaus with little sand cover. The town relies on underground aquifers for water, as rainfall and vegetation are scarce. It is arid and has a hot desert climate, with temperatures ranging from 45 to 110 ℉ (about 7 to 43 ℃). The surrounding region forms part of the Tindouf Basin, a large sedimentary basin extending into parts of Mauritania and Morocco.

Resources

The discovery of vast iron ore reserves at Gara Djebilet, southeast of Tindouf, in the mid-20th century added economic significance to the town. The Tindouf Basin is also estimated to contain substantial undiscovered oil and natural gas reserves.

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Population

According to the official 2008 Algerian census, Tindouf’s population is estimated to be 49,149 people. It has a large population of Regeibat nomads, a Sahrawi tribe spread throughout North Africa. Sahrawis are an ethnic group indigenous to Western Sahara and the surrounding region. The area also hosts tens of thousands of refugees, who fled from Western Sahara because of the conflict between Morocco and the Polisario Front, in camps south of Tindouf. The Polisario Front administers the camps with support from the Algerian government and international aid organizations.

History and conflict

When Spain withdrew from Spanish Sahara (now Western Sahara) in 1975, Morocco moved to annex the region. In response the Polisario Front established its headquarters in Tindouf, which also serves as the administrative base of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR; self-declared government established by the Polisario Front in 1976 claiming sovereignty over Western Sahara). The town hosts a significant Algerian military presence. Algeria’s decision to host the Polisario Front and refugee camps in Tindouf has been a point of contention with Morocco and remains a long-standing source of tension between the two countries.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Andrew Pereira.