Béchar (Arabic: بشار‎) is the capital city of Béchar Province, Algeria. It is also a commune, coextensive with Béchar District, of Béchar Province. In 2008 the city had a population of 165,627, up from 134,954 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 2.1%. The commune covers an area of 5,050 square kilometres (1,950 sq mi). Before coal was found here in 1907, Béchar was a small populated town prior to its annexation to French Algeria on 1904. It...