Agounit

Agounit (also transliterated: Aghouinite, Aghounit, Aghoueinit, Agueinit, Agwenit, Agwanit, Agüenit, Aguanit; Arabic: أغوانيت) is a small town or village in the Río de Oro area of the disputed territory of Western Sahara. It is situated in the Polisario Front-held Free Zone of Western Sahara, under the jurisdiction of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, and near the Mauritanian border, 72 km. south-west from Fderik. It has a hospital, a school and a mosque. It is the head of the 7th military region of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

Agwanit أغوانيت Agüenit Aghoueinit or Aghouinite
Daerah
Agwanit Location in Western Sahara
Coordinates: 22°11′0″N 13°7′59″W
UN Non-Self-Governing Territory	Western Sahara
Controlled by	Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
Claimed by	Morocco
Government
• Type	Municipality
Area
• Total	17.66 km2 (6.82 sq mi)
Elevation	306 m (1,004 ft)
Population  (2004)
• Total	222
• Density	13/km2 (33/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC±00:00 (WET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+01:00 (WEST)

Infrastructure

On June 7, 2006, and during the celebrations of the 30th anniversary of the "Day of the Martyr" (commemorating the death in combat of El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed, first president of the SADR), Mohamed Abdelaziz (president of the SADR) inaugurated a hospital (built up with help from the Basque country government), a desalination centre (built with the help of Andalusia government), a school and the Mayoralty of Agwenit.^[1]

Politics

In May 2000, the Polisario Front celebrated the 27th anniversary of the beginning of their armed struggle with a military parade in Agounit.^[2]

In June 2006 (during the celebrations of the 30th anniversary of the "Day of the Martyr") the town was the host of the annual conference of the Sahrawi communities abroad (Sahrawi diaspora).^[3]

International relations

Twin towns and sister cities

Agounit is twinned with:

• Amurrio, Álava, Basque Country, Spain^[4]
• Busturia, Biscay, Basque Country, Spain^[5]
• Campiglia Marittima, Livorno, Tuscany, Italy^[6]
• Gatika, Biscay, Basque Country, Spain^[7]
• Lapuebla de Labarca, Álava, Basque Country, Spain^[8]
• Mallabia, Biscay, Basque Country, Spain^[9]
• Motril, Granada, Andalucía, Spain
• Poggio a Caiano, Prato, Tuscany, Italy^[10]
• Ponsacco, Pisa, Tuscany, Italy^[6]
• Portoferraio, Livorno, Tuscany, Italy (since November 8, 2004)^[6][11]
• Puçol, Valencia, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain (since September 1, 2002)
• Quarrata, Pistoia, Tuscany, Italy^[6]
• Rignano sull'Arno, Florence, Tuscany, Italy^[6]
• Tres Cantos, Madrid, Spain (since 1995)^[12]