El Aaiún
The protest started on the night of 9 October 2010, when a group of Sahrawis erected the protest camp 12 km. south-east of El Aaiún, the administrative capital of the Moroccan-administered Southern Provinces in the disputed territory. The number of protesters increased rapidly in the first weeks from a few hundred "khaimas" (traditional tents) to several thousand coming from other towns of Western Sahara and southern Morocco.