Béni Ounif is a town and commune in

Béchar Province Béchar () is a Provinces of Algeria, province ''(Wilayah, wilaya)'' in Algeria, located on the border with Morocco in the Algerian Desert, Algerian Sahara. It is the second least-densely populated province in Algeria, with a population of 353591 ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

, coextensive with the ''

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

'' of Béni Ounif. It has a population of 10,732 as of the 2008 census, up from 8,199 in 1998, and had an annual growth rate of 2.8%, the second highest in the province. The commune covers an area of .

History

The ''Béni Ounif massacre'' took place in the commune near the Moroccan border, on 15 August 1999. Guerrillas stopped a bus at a fake

roadblock A roadblock is a temporary installation set up to control or block traffic along a road. The reasons for one could be: * Roadworks *Temporary road closure during special events * Police chase *Robbery * Sobriety checkpoint * Protests In peaceful ...

and killed some 29 people. President

Abdelaziz Bouteflika Abdelaziz Bouteflika (; ; 2 March 1937 – 17 September 2021) was an Algerian politician and diplomat who served as the seventh president of Algeria from 1999 to his resignation in 2019. Before his stint as an Algerian politician, Bouteflika s ...

suggested that the terrorists in question had found shelter in Morocco, but later retracted the accusation. The Moroccan Interior Minister Driss Basri denied the allegations.

Geography

Béni Ounif lies at an elevation of on the Oued Zouzfana downstream of Figuig. To the south the landscape is mostly flat, with a few small hills, while to the north there is a range of taller, rocky hills running from west to east along the

Algeria–Morocco border The Algeria–Morocco border is 1,427 km (887 mi) in length and runs from Mediterranean Sea in the north, to the tripoint with Western Sahara in the south. The border has been officially closed to all travel since 1994, although clandes ...

. Aside from the river valleys which support vegetation and agriculture, the low rainfall in the area results in an arid, barren landscape.

Climate

Béni Ounif has a hot

desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

, with very hot summers and cool winters, and light precipitation throughout the year, especially in summer, although a little more rain does fall than in other towns in Béchar Province.

Economy

Agriculture is the main industry in Béni Ounif. The commune has a total of of

arable land Arable land (from the , "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for the purposes of a ...

, of which is

irrigated Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has be ...

. There are a total of 71,800

date palms ''Phoenix dactylifera'', commonly known as the date palm, is a flowering-plant species in the palm family Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across northern Africa, the Middle East, ...

planted in the commune. As of 2009 there were 23,210 sheep, 16,664 goats, 1,766

camel A camel (from and () from Ancient Semitic: ''gāmāl'') is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provid ...

s, and 444 cattle. Tourism is a part of Béni Ounif's economy; there is one hotel in the town. Tourist attractions include palm groves, the old

ksar Ksar or qṣar (), in plural ksour or qsour (), is a type of fortified village in North Africa, usually found in the regions predominantly or traditionally inhabited by Berbers (Amazigh). The equivalent Berber languages, Berber term used is ' ( ...

and an ancient fort.

Infrastructure and housing

75% of Béni Ounif's population is connected to drinking water (the lowest rate in the province), 96% is connected to the sewerage system, and 87% (including 2,412 buildings) have access to electricity. There is one fuel service station in the town. Béni Ounif has a total of 2,576 houses, of which 1,754 are occupied, giving an occupation rate of 6.1 inhabitants per occupied building.

Transportation

Béni Ounif is on the N6 highway between Mecheria to the northwest and

Béchar Béchar () is the capital city of Béchar Province, Algeria. It is also a commune, coextensive with Béchar District, of Béchar Province. In 2008 the city had a population of 165,627, up from 134,954 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 2.1% ...

to the southwest. While a road leads from the western side of the city to the Moroccan town of

Figuig Figuig or Figig is an oasis town in eastern Morocco near the Atlas Mountains, on the border with Algeria. The town is built around an oasis of date palms, surrounded by rugged, mountainous wilderness. Modernization has somewhat raised the stan ...

, the border has been closed since 1994. Béni Ounif is from the provincial capital,

. There is a total length of of roads in the commune. Béni Ounif has a station on the Méchéria-Béchar railway line operated by the

National Company for Rail Transport The National Rail Transportation Company (, , abbreviated SNTF) is Algeria's national railway operator. The SNTF, a state-owned company, currently has a monopoly over Algeria's rail network of , although it is currently utilising only . Out of ...

Education

There are 10 elementary schools, with 70 classrooms including 47 in use. There are a total of 2,262 school students. 5.8% of the population has a tertiary education, and another 20.3% has competed secondary education. The overall literacy rate is 79.3%, and is 86.0% among males and 72.7% among females.

Health

Béni Ounif has one polyclinic, 8-room care facilities, a maternity ward, and 2 private pharmacies.

Culture

Béni Ounif has a cinema with 315 seats.

Religion

Béni Ounif has 6 operational

mosques A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were simple p ...

, with another 3 under construction.

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

plays a central role in the cultural and religious practices of the people in Béni Ounif. Islamic traditions, such as

prayer File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...

, fasting during

Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...

, and celebrations of

Islamic holidays There are two main holidays in Islam that are celebrated by Muslims worldwide: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. The timing of both holidays are set by the lunar Islamic calendar, which is based upon the cycle of the moon, and so is different from the ...

Eid al-Fitr Eid al-Fitr () is the first of the two main Islamic holidays, festivals in Islam, the other being Eid al-Adha. It falls on the first day of Shawwal, the tenth month of the Islamic calendar. Eid al-Fitr is celebrated by Muslims worldwide becaus ...

and

Eid al-Adha Eid al-Adha () is the second of the two main festivals in Islam alongside Eid al-Fitr. It falls on the 10th of Dhu al-Hijja, the twelfth and final month of the Islamic calendar. Celebrations and observances are generally carried forward to the ...

, are important aspects of community life.

Tribes

The

Berber people Berbers, or the Berber peoples, also known as Amazigh or Imazighen, are a diverse grouping of distinct ethnic groups indigenous to North Africa who predate the arrival of Arabs in the Maghreb. Their main connections are identified by their u ...

are indigenous to

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

and have a long history in the region. In

Berbers Berbers, or the Berber peoples, also known as Amazigh or Imazighen, are a diverse grouping of distinct ethnic groups indigenous to North Africa who predate the arrival of Arab migrations to the Maghreb, Arabs in the Maghreb. Their main connec ...

make up a significant portion of the population, and they have preserved their distinct cultural practices, languages, and traditions.

Berber Languages The Berber languages, also known as the Amazigh languages or Tamazight, are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They comprise a group of closely related but mostly mutually unintelligible languages spoken by Berbers, Berber communities, ...

, such as

Tamazight The Berber languages, also known as the Amazigh languages or Tamazight, are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They comprise a group of closely related but mostly mutually unintelligible languages spoken by Berber communities, who ar ...

, are spoken by many Berbers in Béni Ounif. Arab-Berbers are individuals who have mixed Arab and Berber ancestry. They represent a significant portion of the population in

, including Béni Ounif. Arab-Berbers have cultural characteristics that combine elements from both Arab and Berber traditions. While Berbers and Arab-Berbers are the predominant ethnic groups in Béni Ounif, it's worth noting that there may be smaller populations of other ethnic groups present in the region as well. This could include groups like

Tuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym, depending on variety: ''Imuhaɣ'', ''Imušaɣ'', ''Imašeɣăn'' or ''Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group, traditionally nomadic pastoralists, who principally inhabit th ...

s or Sahrawis, who have historical ties to the broader

Sahara The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

region.

Localities

The commune is composed of 11 localities: *Beni Ounif (Centre) *Jenan Dar *

Fendi Fendi Srl () is an Culture of Italy, Italian luxury goods, luxury fashion house producing fur, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, fragrances, eyewear, timepieces and accessories. Founded in Rome in 1925 by fashion designers Edoardo Fendi and ...

*Rosta Taïba * Zoubia *Oued Namous *Saf Saf *Laouedj *Douis *Bouaiache *Hador The locality Zoubia is a village, located on the N6 highway about to the northeast, on the border with

Naâma Province Naâma Province () is a provinces of Algeria, province (''wilaya'') of Algeria named after its provincial Capital (political), seat, the town of Naâma. The region is dominated by a large sabkha. There is an airport in Mécheria. History The pro ...

Neighbouring towns and cities