Dakhla

About the town

Dakhla is a town in Western Sahara under Moroccan control. It is the capital of the Moroccan administrative region of Dakhla Oued AlDahab. In 2014, its population was 106,277. It is built on a narrow peninsula of the Atlantic Coast, about 550 km south of Laayoune. The town was expanded by Spanish settlers during the expansion of their empire. The Spanish interest in the desert coast of Western Africa's Sahara arose as a result of fishing carried out from the nearby Canary Islands by Spanish fishers and as a result of the Barbary pirates menace.

During the colonial period, Spanish authorities made Dakhla the capital of the province of Riode Oro, one of the two regions of what was known as Spanish Sahara. They built a military fortress and a modern Catholic church, both of which remained points of interest for visitors to the city, until the demolition of the fort by the Moroccans in 2004. A prison camp also existed at the fort during the Spanish Civil War, in which writers, such as Pedro Garcia Cabera, were imprisoned.

About the cooperation agreement

An agreement of cooperation between Dakhla and Bethlehem was signed in July 2012, between the then Mayor of Bethlehem, Mr. Victor Batarseh, and the then Mayor of Dakhla, Mr. Sidi Slooh AlJumani. In the agreement, the two parties agreed to cooperate in the areas of protection of the environment; support of sociocultural activities; promotion of local initiatives, particularly for young men and women; integration management of waste and grey water; public health and forensic; and sustainable urban development.