Water up to one metre (three feet) deep had inundated houses and cut roads in and around the city after several days of downpours, they said.

Residents shown on television called on the authorities to supply aid and reopen the main road to southern Morocco.

Western Sahara was annexed by Morocco in 1975 after Spain gave up its rule of the phosphate-rich region. Sovereignty is claimed by the Polisario Front, which fought a lengthy guerrilla war against Rabat's forces before a ceasefire in 1991.

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