Al Mahbes

Al Mahbes (Arabic: المحبس) is a town in the UN-monitored buffer zone of Western Sahara,^[1][2] near the Algerian border, some 100 kilometres (62 mi) northeast of Bir Lehlou.

Al Mahbes المحبس
Al Mahbes Location in Western Sahara Show map of Western Sahara Al Mahbes Al Mahbes (Africa) Show map of Africa
Coordinates: 27°24′57.6″N 9°3′3.6″W
Territory	Western Sahara
Claimed by	Kingdom of Morocco, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
Area
• Total	55.0 km2 (21.23 sq mi)
Population  (2004)
• Total	7,331
• Density	130/km2 (350/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+0 (WET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (WEST)

Mahbes' partner municipalities are the Spanish city of Noia and the Italian municipalities of Sesto Fiorentino^[3] and San Giovanni Valdarno.

History

Two battles took place in Al Mahbes. The battle of Al Mahbes of 1979 and the battle of Al Mahbes that took place in 1985 during the Western Sahara War.

Al Mahbes was hit by significant strikes and incursions by the Polisario front in 2021.^[4] Skirmishes also occurred in 2024.^[5]