Ain Ben Tili

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ain Ben Tili
Ain Ben Tili (Mauritania  )
Ain Ben Tili
Ain Ben Tili
Location in Mauritania
Coordinates: 25°55′4″N 9°35′13″W / 25.91778, -9.58694
Country Mauritania
Region Tiris Zemmour
District Bir Mogrein

Ain Ben Tili (Arabic: عين بن تيلي) is a small town in North East Mauritania, on the border of Western Sahara, in the Sahara desert.

On October 12, 1975, the Polisario Front gathered a large number of Sahrawi tribal elders in a conference in Ain Ben Tili to rally the tribes against impending Moroccan and Mauritanian invasion. The timing was intended to predate the October 16 Green March that staked Morocco's claim to what was then Spanish Sahara. The meeting resulted in a declaration of support from the tribes to Polisario, including by many from the pro-Spanish PUNS party and the Djema'a. As a result of the Ain Ben Tili gathering, a conference by the Djema'a was organized in Guelta Zemmur on November 28, where the Djema'a dissolved itself after declaring support to Polisario.

Since 1976, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic celebrates October 12 as National Unity Day.