In Amenas
عين أمناس
Town and Commune
Location of In Amenas commune within Illizi Province
Location of In Amenas commune within Illizi Province
In Amenas is located in Algeria
In Amenas
In Amenas
Location of In Amenas within Algeria
Coordinates: 28°2′27″N 9°32′35″E / 28.04083°N 9.54306°E / 28.04083; 9.54306
Country Algeria
ProvinceIllizi
DistrictAin Amenas (seat)
Area
 • Total14,913 km2 (5,758 sq mi)
Elevation
549 m (1,801 ft)
Population
 (2008)[1]
 • Total7,385
 • Density0.50/km2 (1.3/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01 (CET)
Postal code
33200
ONS code3306

In Amenas (Arabic: عين أمناس,[2] ‘In ’Amanās) is a town and commune in eastern Algeria, bordering with Libya. The town is located 30 kilometres (19 mi) west of the border. There is no border crossing in the area. The municipality had 7,385 inhabitants in 2008,[1] up from 5.302 in 1998,[3] with an annual growth rate of 3.4%[1] According to the Algerian novelist Mouloud Mammeri the name is a Tuareg word which means "place of camel drivers."[4][5]

The natural gas facility near the municipality was attacked by Islamist militants in January 2013.[6]

Climate

In Amenas has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh). Summers are long and very hot with average high temperatures over 40 °C (104 °F) during June, July and August. Winters remain warm and brief at daytime but nights can be quite cold, with average low temperatures below 4 °C (39.2 °F) during January, the coolest month of the year. In Amenas averages annual rainfall of only 23.2 mm (0.91 in) as the town is located within the large central hyperarid core of the Sahara Desert. The sky is always clear over In Amenas throughout the year and the relative humidity is very low, especially during summer months.

Climate In Amenas
Climate data for In Amenas
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 17.1
(62.8)		 21.0
(69.8)		 25.3
(77.5)		 32.7
(90.9)		 35.9
(96.6)		 40.8
(105.4)		 41.9
(107.4)		 41.2
(106.2)		 39.4
(102.9)		 33.7
(92.7)		 25.2
(77.4)		 18.4
(65.1)		 31.1
(87.9)
Daily mean °C (°F) 10.8
(51.4)		 13.9
(57.0)		 17.6
(63.7)		 24.0
(75.2)		 28.1
(82.6)		 32.9
(91.2)		 33.9
(93.0)		 33.4
(92.1)		 30.8
(87.4)		 25.2
(77.4)		 18.1
(64.6)		 12.2
(54.0)		 23.4
(74.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 4.4
(39.9)		 6.8
(44.2)		 9.9
(49.8)		 15.3
(59.5)		 20.3
(68.5)		 25.1
(77.2)		 25.9
(78.6)		 25.6
(78.1)		 22.2
(72.0)		 16.7
(62.1)		 10.9
(51.6)		 6.0
(42.8)		 15.8
(60.4)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 2.5
(0.10)		 1.5
(0.06)		 3.7
(0.15)		 1.2
(0.05)		 2.0
(0.08)		 1.3
(0.05)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.5
(0.02)		 1.1
(0.04)		 3.7
(0.15)		 2.4
(0.09)		 3.3
(0.13)		 23.2
(0.92)
Average relative humidity (%) 47.7 42.5 33.1 28.5 25.2 23.1 21.0 24.0 27.8 37.8 40.1 47.1 33.2
Source 1: climatebase.ru (extremes, humidity)[7]
Source 2: en.climatedata.org (averages temperatures and rainfall)[8]

Transport

It is served by In Amenas Airport[9] with Air Algérie flights to Algiers, Hassi Messaoud, Oran and Ouargla and Tassili Airlines flights to Adrar, El Golea, El Oued, In Salah, Tébessa and Touggourt.

Economy

Natural gas

In Amenas is the starting point of the In Amenas-Haoud El Hamra oil pipeline and the In Amenas-Hassi Messaoud gas pipeline.[10]

The natural gas joint development project (known as the In Amenas Gas Project) which includes four primary gas fields plus the gathering and processing facilities in Tiguentourine, 25 kilometres (16 mi) outside the town, was commissioned in 2006.[11] The project is operated by Sonatrach, BP, and Statoil.[12] Zarzaitine is one of the notable sites Sonatrach is operating in the area.

History

In January 2013, the Tigantourine gas facility was attacked by Islamist militants. At least 39 foreign hostages, along with an Algerian security guard, were killed when the facility was stormed after a four day stand-off.[13] A total of 685 Algerian workers and 107 foreigners were freed.[14] It was one of many attacks in the Maghreb carried out by Islamist groups since 2002.

Education

7.0% of the population has a tertiary education, and another 16.9% has completed secondary education.[15] The overall literacy rate is 80.0%, and is 85.0% among males and 72.8% among females.[16]

Localities

The commune is composed of eight localities:[17]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Population: Béchar Wilaya" (PDF) (in French). Office National des Statistiques Algérie. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 November 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  2. ↑ Wilaya of Ilizi in Official journals of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria
  3. ↑ "Algeria Communes". Statoids. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  4. ↑ Jacqueline Arnaud, Poétiques croisées du Maghreb 1991 Université Paris-Nord. Centre d'études francophones, Jāmiʻat al-Jazāʼir. Equipe de recherches: Sémiologie du texte littéraire et analyse du discours - 1991 commentary on Mouloud Mammeri, La Traversée Page 72 "Il décrit l'oasis d'In Amenas: "Mourad, lui aussi, découvre le village fantôme, d'abord dans le Sahara, et ensuite en Kabylie. Il décrit l'oasis d'In Amenas: In Amenas veut dire en touareg le lieu des méharis. Ce n'était plus qu'une dérision. A la place des méharis ..."
  5. ↑ Mildred P. Mortimer Journeys through the French African novel 1990 commentary on Mouloud Mammeri, La Traversée - Page 124 "Tension between the irretrievable past and the impoverished present is presented by the contrast between memories of graceful camels and sights of awkward lumbering trucks: "In Amenas means in Tuareg the gathering place of camel drivers.."
  6. ↑ New York Times report on In Aménas hostage crisis
  7. ↑ "In Amenas, Algeria". Climatebase.ru. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  8. ↑ "Climate Data For In Amenas, Algeria". Climatedata.org. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  9. ↑ "In Aménas Airport". OurAirports. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  10. ↑ "North Africa Pipelines map - Crude Oil (petroleum) pipelines - Natural Gas pipelines - Products pipelines". Theodora.com. Retrieved 2013-01-19.
  11. ↑ Andrew Callus: "Desert site is home to kidnapped foreign gas workers" Reuters, 16 January 2013
  12. ↑ Maiken Ree for NTB: Statoil-anlegg angrepet i Algerie (in Norwegian) Teknisk Ukeblad, 16 January 2013
  13. ↑ "Algeria details the deaths at In Amenas siege". Euronews. 21 January 2013. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  14. ↑ Laura Smith-Spark; Joe Sterling (19 January 2013). "Bloody Algeria hostage crisis ends after 'final' assault, officials say". CNN. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  15. ↑ "Structure relative de la population résidente des ménages ordinaires et collectifs âgée de 6 ans et plus selon le niveau d'instruction et la commune de résidence" (PDF) (in French). Office National des Statistiques Algérie. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 November 2011. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  16. ↑ "Taux d'analphabétisme et taux d'alphabétisation de la population âgée de 15 ans et plus, selon le sexe et la commune de résidence " (PDF) (in French). Office National des Statistiques Algérie. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 November 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  17. ↑ "Décret n° 84-365, fixant la composition, la consistance et les limites territoriale des communes. Wilaya d'Illizi" (PDF) (in French). Journal officiel de la République Algérienne. 19 December 1984. p. 1554. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
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