In the wake of Mohsin’s death, protests erupted across Morocco, linking issues of corruption, unemployment and social justice with the demands of the Rif’s Amazigh-speaking population for cultural, economic and social rights. In November 1912, owing to British insistence that a buffer be created between French North Africa and Britain’s strategic base at Gibraltar, the French granted Spain a protectorate “sublease” of 7,700 square miles (20,000 square km) along Morocco’s Mediterranean coast. In 1921 begins to move his troops towards the mountain city planning put a stop to the resistance. Berenguer’s primary focus was to make cautious advances into the mountainous Yebala region and occupy the holy city of Chefchaouene. The initial reaction in Spain was disbelief, followed by outrage. The revival of mass protests in the capital follows months of demonstrations in the Rif raising a range of demands for political reform and social change. That hasty evacuation panicked the Spanish troops, who fled Annual and subsequent fall-back positions in general disorder. Among those arrested was Nasser Zefzafi, an important protest leader from Al Hoceima. Search on Facebook for Hirak – Morocco Solidarity Initiative UK for more information.Â. David S. Woolman. Start your review of Rebels in the Rif: Abd El Krim and the Rif Rebellion. The result of that tension was a series of guerrilla attacks by Abd el-Krim’s forces on Spain’s advanced fortifications in June–July 1921, which culminated in Fernández Silvestre’s ill-considered decision to abandon the frontline post of Annual (Anwal) on July 22, 1921. The Rif War was the last major confrontation during several centuries of conflict between the Rif peoples of northern Morocco and the Spanish. The Rif War was fought between Spanish colonial forces and local Rif fighters led by Abd el-Krim. The Abd el-Krims were a leading Beni Urriaguel family, and they had collaborated for many years with the Spanish authorities in Melilla. Morocco, history, rulers, politics. These "Peninsular" troops were poorly supplied and prepared, few had marksmanship skills and proper battle training, and widespread corruption was reported amongst the officer corps, reducing sup… The most belligerent Rif forces were barricaded in Al Hoceima, in the heart of the Rif Mountains. In the middle of the Cold War between the major superpowers at that time, the US and the USSR (1), That evacuation, which cost the Spanish army at least 2,000 dead or missing, caused great discontent among the upper ranks of the Spanish colonial army; one of the most vocal of those so-called Africanista officers was Francisco Franco, then commander of the Spanish Foreign Legion. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. The Rif War or Rebellion (1920-1930) It seemed that lasting peace would come to the Protectorate, especially with the ... republic is a free and sovereign military and political association of tribes living in the Rif Mountains of northern Morocco. save hide report. Shannon Fleming holds a doctorate in modern European history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I read about it and the war but I can't seem to get into the "why" aspect of how it happened. Stanford University Press, 1968 - Biography & Autobiography - 257 pages. The Rif region is mountainous and has some fertile plains, and stretches from Cape Spartel and Tangier in the west to Berkane and the Moulouya River in the east and from the Mediterranean in the north to the Ouergha River in the south. Was hoping someone here could tell me that. Outside the Rif, the solidarity movement also surged ahead, with huge numbers joining the demonstration in the capital on 11 June. The war was the last and perhaps most significant of many confrontations between the Berber peoples inhabiting the region and the Spanish. The background --Spanish Morocco --Spanish relations with Morocco before 1912 --The Spanish protectorate, 1912-1921 --Abd el Krim --Anual --The slow road back --Primo de Rivera --The year of Chaouen --Abd el Krim's wartime government --The French threaten --War with France --The end of the Rif Rebellion --Abd el Krim's legacy --Conclusion. That retreat empowered the Rif who were behind the Spanish lines, and Abd el-Krim and his followers pushed the Spanish forces back to Melilla. By early 1925 Abd el-Krim was at the height of his power and influence, controlling at least three-fourths of the protectorate. The evacuation also reflected a general war weariness among a significant portion of the Spanish populace, as well as a realization that the conflict was costing the Spanish treasury more than it could afford. Morocco: Rif rebellion comes to Rabat. They were a fiercely independent people who no more welcomed domination from a sultan in far-off Fez than they did from Spanish colonial troops. Tension between colonial Spanish forces and Rif peoples in northern Morocco culminated in a series of guerrilla attacks led by Berber leader Abd el-Krim on Spanish fortifications in June–July 1921. share. Rif Rebellion Essay For centuries Spain controlled the mountainous areas from Ceuta to Melilla in northern Morocco. After his father’s death in 1920, Muhammad Abd el-Krim, a man of considerable leadership and organizational skills, along with his brother and other members of his extended family, undertook to galvanize his group and neighbouring peoples against the Spanish advances. For the greater part of its 180-mile (290-km) length, the range hugs the Mediterranean Sea, leaving only a few narrow coastal valleys suitable for agriculture or urban settlement.. That relationship ended abruptly in 1919 when the Abd el-Krims realized that the Spanish were intent on the military occupation and domination of their group. Riffians (in Tarifit Irifiyen), by others also known as Riyafa or Rwafa, are a Moroccan Berber-speaking people of Northwestern Africa, who derive their name from the Riff region in the northern edge of Morocco. Rif War (1921–26), conflict between Spanish colonial forces and Rif peoples led by Muhammad Abd el-Krim. Within weeks, Spain lost all of its territory in the region. Register to access all of the benefits reserved to registered users or click on login if you are already registered. Between 26 May and 31 May, Moroccan security forces rounded up 71 people following protests in the Rif’s regional capital, Al Hoceima and the neighbouring towns of Imzouren and Beni Bouayach. Change ). Initially, the Spanish forces in Morocco were largely composed of conscripts and reservists from Spain itself. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Riff Rebellion. In the process he replaced a hierarchical society with a centralized bureaucracy and fighting force, a Muslim legal code, international trade arrangements, and a nascent network of roads and telecommunications. However, Spanish efforts were seriously constrained by ambivalent government policy and a lack of public support for what had become an unpopular colonial war. 3 users. Unfortunately for Spain, much of the protectorate was an inaccessible rural backwater of difficult mountainous terrain inhabited by dozens of Berber groups, known collectively as the Rif. Spanish troops digging trenches at Beni Sikar, northwest of Melilla, during the Rif War. That did not happen immediately, as enlisting support from other groups and political and religious elites was not always easy for Abd el-Krim. The establishment of the French protectorate in Morocco in March 1912 resulted from the implosion of the Moroccan polity after decades of European interference in Moroccan affairs. The issue of political and military responsibilities associated with the rout became a leitmotif in Spanish politics for a number of years. It was questionable whether that conscript force had the resources, leadership, training, and morale to carry out the charge effectively. In spite of its liberal image abroad, Morocco tolerates little dissent at home. menasolidaritynetwork / June 16, 2017. Rif casualties may have been about 30,000, with 10,000 killed. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. NOW 50% OFF! Please select which sections you would like to print: Corrections? Spanish artillery firing outside Melilla during the Rif War. Download books for free. About 43,500 Spanish troops were killed or wounded or went missing during the war; Spain’s ally France counted about 18,000 as killed, wounded, or missing. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. The response of the Rif was one of surprise and elation, followed by an effort to extend the rebellion into other parts of the central Rif and beyond. It was fought primarily in the Rif, a mountainous region of northern Morocco. He is the author of. However over the winter, the movement outside the Rif retreated, while repression within the Rif intensified, perhaps reflecting the regime’s calculation that the protest movement had been contained and isolated. Arrests of the leaders of the al-Hirak al-Sha’abi (Popular Movement) — Nasser Zefzafi, Najib Ahamjik and Silya Ziani — angered, rather than intimidated, the public. Enter your email address and receive notifications of new posts by email. Britannica Kids Holiday Bundle. In February he launched a large raid on Tétouan to demonstrate that the rebellion … Lawyers for the detainees told Amnesty International they saw signs of beatings on their bodies, and that the prisoners had been insulted and in some cases threatened with rape. That state of affairs persisted until September 1924, when the Spanish government, under the recently installed dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera, decided to evacuate thousands of troops from hundreds of isolated positions in the western part of the protectorate to a fortified line 6 miles (10 km) south of Tetuán. Picture: Al-Mounadila newspaper via Facebook, Event: North Africa at the Crossroads – 7pm Tues 11 July, SOAS – book online now. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Posted on October 8, 2020. Historians debate whether the Rif War is better understood as a secular insurgency against a colonial power or a war in defense of Islam and Berber independence. Rif War: Spain's War in the Rif of Northern Morocco, 1920-1927 One of the least cited "inter-war" conflicts which was also apart of the neo-colonialism era of the 20th century, the Rif War or Riffian Rebellion in Morocco was bloody and multi-state conflict. The Moroccan regime’s other tactics, including urging criticism of the protests from the pulpit in the city’s mosques, and a barrage of media attacks on the protesters as ‘separatists’ and ‘traitors’, failed to halt the rising tide of mobilisation. What are your thoughts? A few days after their arrest, 31 of the detainees were transferred to Casablanca for interrogation, raising fears that they would be charged with state security or terrorism offences. Hossein Nadorian rated it it was amazing Jul 29, 2013. Exploring Morocco’s Rif Region. The Rif War lasted from June 1921 to May 1926. ( Log Out /  In March 1912 Sultan Mulai Hafid signed a treaty in which he recognized a French protectorate over Morocco. Rif, also called Rif Mountains, Arabic Al-Rif, mountain range of northern Morocco, extending from Tangier to the Moulouya River valley near the Moroccan-Algerian frontier. Flag of the Rif Republic (1921–1926) Sultan Yusef's reign, from 1912 to 1927, was turbulent and marked with frequent uprisings against Spain and France. ... Northern Africa > Morocco. (Spanish forces continued fighting pockets of Rif resistance until July 1927, however, when Spain declared the region “pacified.”). What was the motivation of the Rif rebellion/republic? Frustrated with the situation, in 1919 the Spanish government authorized the protectorate’s high commissioner, Gen. Dámaso Berenguer, to step up efforts to bring more of the protectorate under Spanish control. : You are free: to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work; to remix – to adapt the work; Under the following conditions: attribution – You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made.