Tindouf, Algeria

Tindouf, also written Tinduf, is a city and wilaya in the west of Algeria, pop. 30,000.

In the region there are four refugee camps for people from Western Sahara (Sahrawis): El Aiun, Awserd, Smara and Dakhla (not to be confused with the cities after which they are named), with a total population of 165,000. (There are also some smaller camps, notably the "February 27", serving as a boarding school for women.)

Facilities are few and living conditions are harsh. However, there is education, television, and several hundreds of satellite dishes.

There is a UNHCR family visits exchange program for five-day visits for a limited number of people. [1]

The headquarters of Polisario, with the government in exile of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), are also in the region.

Around 400 Moroccan POWs are also held here, among them the longest serving prisoners of war in the world; one of those released in 2002 was captured in 1975.