[9] In 2023, Laayoune is the capital of the Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra region administered by Morocco, it is still under the supervision of MINURSO, a UN mission.

Laayoune or El Aaiún are respectively the French and Spanish transliterations of one of the possible Romanized Maghrebi Arabic names for the city: Layoun, which could mean "the springs", in reference to the oases that furnish the town's water supply.

Its position on the banks of the Saguia el-Hamra river enabled good communication with the harbors of Tarfaya and Boujdour.

[10] The town was the scene of the Zemla Intifada that occurred on June 17, 1970, that culminated in a massacre, resulting in the deaths ranging from 2 to 11 people and hundreds injured.

[10] Since then, large numbers of Moroccans have moved to the city, and now outnumber the indigenous Sahrawis, who have gradually given up their traditional nomadic lifestyles.

[21] Later on, São Tomé and Príncipe,[22] the Central African Republic,[23] Ivory Coast,[24] Burundi,[25] Eswatini,[26] Zambia,[27] the United Arab Emirates,[28] and Bahrain,[29] also opened consulates in the city.