Bir Lehlou
بئر الحلو Bir Leḥlu | |
|---|---|
Municipality and town | |
 Inauguration of the school "José Ramón Diego Aguirre" in Bir Lehlou, May 20, 2005 | |
  Bir Lehlou Location in Western Sahara  Bir Lehlou Bir Lehlou (Africa) | |
| Coordinates: 26°20′58″N 09°34′32″W / 26.34944°N 9.57556°W | |
| Territory | Western Sahara |
| Claimed by |  Kingdom of Morocco Sahrawi Republic |
| Controlled by | Sahrawi Republic |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipality[1] |
| • Mayor | Abeid Moulud[2] |
| Elevation | 475 m (1,558 ft) |
| Climate | BWh |
Bir Lehlou (also transliterated Bir Lahlou, Bir Lehlu Arabic: بئر الحلو) is an oasis town in north-eastern Western Sahara, 236 km from Smara, near the Mauritanian border and east of the border wall, in Polisario Front-held territory. It has a pharmacy, a school and a mosque. It is the head of the 5th military region of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and was the factual temporary capital of SADR until Tifariti became the temporary capital in 2008. It is also the name of a Daïra of the Wilaya of Smara, in the Sahrawi refugee camps.
The name "Bir Lehlou" is transcribed from Maghrebi Arabic, and means "the sweet (meaning palatable or non-salty) water well". The Modern Standard Arabic transcription would be "bir al Halou" (بئر الحلو).
- ^ "Allocating seats for the liberated territories in Parliament will be considered in the next election (Official)". Sahara Press Service. 2012-02-20. Archived from the original on 2014-09-12.
- ^ Tolosa renueva su hermanamiento con el municipio saharaui de Bir Lehlu Noticias de Gipuzkoa, 8 January 2011 (in Spanish)