Béni Ounif is a town and commune in

Béchar Province Béchar ( ar, ولاية بشار) is the second least-densely populated province (''wilaya'') in Algeria, named after its capital Béchar. History The greater part of the province is dry plains ( hamadas) suitable for grazing but with insuff ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , religi ...

, 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, municipa ...

'' 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 In peaceful circumstanc ...

and killed some 29 people. President

Abdelaziz Bouteflika Abdelaziz Bouteflika (; ar, عبد العزيز بوتفليقة, ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Būtaflīqa ; 2 March 1937 – 17 September 2021) was an Algerian politician and diplomat who served as President of Algeria from 1999 to his resignation in 201 ...

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

Driss Basri Driss Basri ( ar, إدريس البصري ', 8 November 1938 in Settat – 27 August 2007) was a Moroccan politician who served as interior minister from 1979 to 1999. After General Oufkir's death in 1972, and then Ahmed Dlimi's death in 1983, D ...

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. Description The boundary starts in the north on the Mediterranean Sea just west ...

. 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 la, arabilis, "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 th ...

, of which is

irrigated Irrigation (also referred to as watering) 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 been dev ...

. There are a total of 71,800

date palms ''Phoenix dactylifera'', commonly known as date or 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 Ea ...

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

camel A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. ...

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 qsar (Maghrebi Arabic: قصر ''qṣer'' or ڭصر ''gser'', plural ''qṣur''; Berber: ⵉⴴⵔⵎ ''aghrem'' or ''ighrem'', plural: ''igherman''), plural ksars, qsars, ksour or qsour, is the North African term for "fortified vill ...

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 ( ar, بشار) 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 ...

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

Figuig Figuig or Figig ( ar, فجيج; Figuig Berber: Ifeyyey) 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, called ''Tazdayt'', meaning "palm tree" in the B ...

, 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 (french: Société Nationale des Transports Ferroviaires, abbreviated SNTF; ar, الشركة الوطنية للنّقل بالسّكك الحديدية) is Algeria's national railway operator. The SNTF ...

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 (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, i ...

, with another 3 under construction.

Localities

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

Fendi Fendi () is an Italian high-end luxury fashion house producing fur, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, fragrances, eyewear, timepieces and accessories. Founded in Rome in 1925, Fendi is known for its fur, fur accessories, and leather goods ...

*Rosta Taïba *

Zoubia Zoubia (alternate spelling Zubia or Zubya) is a village in Jordan with a population of around 7,000. It is located in northwestern Jordan and is part of the Irbid Governorate. Zoubia is known for its abundant oak forests and its mountains, which ...

*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 ( ar, ولاية النعامة) is a province ('' wilaya'') of Algeria named after its provincial seat, the town of Naâma. The region is dominated by a large sabkha. There is an airport in Mécheria. History The province w ...

Neighbouring towns and cities