The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic was proclaimed on February 27, 1976, following the 1975 withdrawal of the Spanish from Spanish Sahara, and a dispute over this area between Morocco and Mauritania.
Its capital city is El-Aaiún, although this town remains under Moroccan rule (as does 80% of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic).
The capital-city-in-exile is Bir Lehlou, but most administrative business is conducted in Tindouf refugee camps located in Algeria (home to most of the Sahrawi people who live in exile).
The Arabic term "Sahrāwī" translates into English as "someone from the desert."
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