Tamanrasset

Tamanrasset /tæmɨnræsɨt/(Arabic: تمنراست, also known as Tamenɣest or Tamenghest, Tuareg: ) is an oasis city and capital of Tamanrasset Province in southern Algeria, in the Ahaggar Mountains. It is the chief city of the Algerian Tuareg. It is located at 22°47′6″N 5°31′22″E / 22.78500°N 5.52278°E / 22.78500; 5.52278 at an altitude of 1,320 meters (4,333 feet) and has a population of 76,000 (estimate 2006).

Tamanrasset was originally established as a military outpost to guard the trans-Saharan trade routes. Surrounded by the barren Sahara Desert, very high temperatures of over 47°C have been recorded here. Tamanrasset is located at an oasis where, despite the difficult climate, citrus fruits, apricots, dates, almonds, cereals, corn, and figs are grown. The Tuareg people are the town's main inhabitants. Tamanrasset is a popular tourist attraction during the cooler months. Visitors are also drawn to the Museum of the Hoggar, which offers many exhibits depicting Tuareg life and culture.

Blessed Charles de Foucauld was shot to death outside his Tamanrasset compound by Sermi ag Thora under the command of El Madani ag Soba on December 1, 1916. When Algeria was under French rule, the city was also called Fort Laperrine after General François-Henry Laperrine.

The city is served by Tamanrasset Airport and the Trans-Sahara Highway.

The oasis town is now the site of the Joint Military Staff Committee headquarters for combating Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb. The four-country Committee (Algeria, Mali, Niger, Mauritania) intends to use Tamanrasset to coordinate their military activity in the Pan-Sahel.

In 2003 Air Algérie Flight 6289 crashed in the city.