Bassiknou
Bassikounou | |
---|---|
Commune and town | |
![]() A street in Bassikounou | |
Coordinates: 15°51′0″N 5°56′9″W / 15.85000°N 5.93583°W | |
Country | ![]() |
Region | Hodh Ech Chargui |
Government | |
• Mayor | Mohamed Sidi Hanena |
Population (2013) | |
• Total | 10,561 |
Time zone | UTC+0 (GMT) |
Bassiknou or Bassikounou is a town and commune in the Hodh Ech Chargui Region of south-eastern Mauritania.[1]
In 2013, it had a population of 10,561.[2]
The town was the site of the Battle of Bassikounou in July 2011, where Mauritanian armed forced defeated the jihadist AQIM group.
Bassikounou and its surroundings have hosted tens of thousands of Malian refugees since the conflict there began in 2012, on top of other refugees who have lived there since the 1990s. This influx has stressed limited local resources of food, water, firewood, and grazing land.[3]
15°51′0″N 5°56′9″W / 15.85000°N 5.93583°W