Muhammad bin ‘Abd al-Karīm al-Khaṭābī, better known as Abd el-Krim, was a Moroccan political and military leader and the president of the Republic of the Rif. He and his brother M'Hammad led a large-scale revolt by a coalition of Riffian tribes against the Spanish and French Protectorates of the Rif and the rest of Morocco. His guerrilla tactics, which included the first-ever use of tunneling as a technique of modern warfare, directly influenced Ho Chi Minh, Mao Zedong and Che Guevara. He also became one of the major figures of Arab nationalism, which he actively supported.
The Government of the Republic of the Rif was established on 18 September 1921 when the Riffian Tribes, led by Abd el-Krim, beat Spain in the Battle of Annual during the Rif War and created the Confederal Republic of the Tribes of the Rif.
The Battle of Annual was fought on 22 July 1921 at Annual, in northeastern Morocco, between the Spanish Army and Rifian Berbers during the Rif War. The Spanish suffered a major military defeat, which is almost always referred to by the Spanish as the Disaster of Annual which is widely considered to be the worst defeat suffered by the modern Spanish Army.
The Republic of the Rif was a confederate republic in the Rif, Morocco, that existed between 1921 and 1926. It was created in September 1921, when a coalition of Rifians and Jebala led by Abd el-Krim revolted in the Rif War against the Spanish protectorate in Morocco. The French would intervene on the side of Spain in the later stages of the conflict. A protracted struggle for independence killed many Rifians and Spanish–French soldiers, and witnessed the use of chemical weapons by the Spanish army—their first widespread deployment since the end of the World War I. The eventual Spanish–French victory was owed to the technological and manpower advantages despite their lack of morale and coherence. Following the war's end, the Republic was ultimately dissolved in 1926.
The Rif, also called Rif Mountains, is a geographic region in northern Morocco. It is bordered on the north by the Mediterranean Sea and Spain and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean, and is the homeland of the Rifians and the Jebala people. This mountainous and fertile area is bordered by Cape Spartel and Tangier to the west, by Berkane and the Moulouya River to the east, by the Mediterranean to the north, and by the Ouergha River to the south. The Rif mountains are separated into the eastern Rif mountains and western Rif mountains.
The Rif War was an armed conflict fought from 1921 to 1926 between Spain and the Berber (Amazigh) tribes of the mountainous Rif region of northern Morocco.
The Ait Ouriaghel or Ait Waryaghar is one of the biggest Riffian tribes of the Rif region of the north-eastern part of Morocco and one of the most populous. Ait Waryagher means "those who do not back off/ those who do not retreat". They inhabit most of the territory around the city of Al Hoceima. The Ait Waryaghar speak the "Western-Tarifit" dialect of the Riffian language.
Mohammed ben al-Hajj Amezian, also known as El Mizzian by the Spanish, was a Moroccan sharif who served as the main leader of the Rifian resistance against Spanish rule in northern Morocco prior to the rise of Abd el-Krim in 1921.
Mulai Ahmed er Raisuni was a Sharif, and a leader of the Jebala tribal confederacy in Morocco at the turn of the 20th century.
Manuel Fernández Silvestre was a Spanish general.
During the Third Rif War in Spanish Morocco between 1921 and 1927, the Spanish Army of Africa deployed chemical weapons in an attempt to put down the Berber rebellion against colonial rule in the region of the Rif led by the guerrilla Abd el-Krim. In 1921, following the Rifian victory in the Battle of Annual, which was considered the worst Spanish defeat of the 20th-century, the Spanish army pursued a campaign of retribution involving the indiscriminate and routine dropping of toxic gas bombs targeting civilian populations, markets and rivers.
Riffians or Rifians are a Berber ethnic group originally from the Rif region of northeastern Morocco. Communities of Riffian immigrants are also found in southern Spain, Netherlands and Belgium as well as elsewhere in Western Europe. They are overwhelmingly Sunni Muslims, but retain their pre-Islamic traditions such as high status for Riffian women.
Manuel Goded Llopis was a Spanish Army general who was one of the key figures in the July 1936 revolt against the democratic government of Manuel Azanã. Having unsuccessfully led an attempted insurrection in Barcelona, he was captured and executed by the Republican government. Previously, Goded had distinguished himself in the Battle of Alhucemas of the Rif War.
The Alhucemas landing was a landing operation which took place on 8 September 1925 at Alhucemas by the Spanish Army and Navy and, in lesser numbers, an allied French naval and aerial contingent, that would put an end to the Rif War. It is considered the first amphibious landing in history involving the use of tanks and massive seaborne air support. Alhucemas is seen as a precursor of the Allied amphibious landings in World War II, and the first successful combined operation of the 20th century.
Ait Touzine is one of the biggest Riffian tribes from the central Rif region in Morocco.
Ait Oulichek is an Amazigh Riffian tribe located in the North-Eastern province of Morocco. Ayt or Beni is referred to as 'Descendants of' with the latter being the most common form of address of the Oulichek tribe until the recent Arabization in Morocco initiative.
The massacre of Monte Arruit took place on 9 August 1921 in Al Aaroui during the Rif War, when, after the July 1921 Battle of Annual, Riffian forces slaughtered most of the Spanish soldiers who had surrendered on that day.
Abd el-Kader bel Hach (Hajj) Tieb was a Riffian tribal leader, caïd of the Bni Chiker, in northeastern Morocco.
The Riffian independence movement is an ongoing political movement aiming for international recognition of the Rif region in Northern Morocco, as a state independent from the Kingdom of Morocco. The movement is rooted in several instances of indigenous territory being colonized, ruled, and marginalized by different powers and the riots and civil disobedience resulting from it, including the 1958 Rif riots and the Hirak Rif movement. While Riffian independence has been a topic of protest and organization in the past, the formal and internationally noted independence movement could technically be considered to have begun in September 2023 with the formation of the Rif Nationalist Party (PNR).
The 1924 retreat from Chefchaoun was the retreat of the Spanish forces from Chefchaouen during the Rif War. After the major defeat at Annual, the prime minister and the military dictator, Miguel Primo de Rivera, decided to withdraw his troops to the coast of Morocco. A major evacuation took place at Chefchaoun where a relief force escorted the garrison to Tetuan. During their march, the Spanish suffered constant attacks by the Riffian force, suffering heavy casualties. The retreat was a disaster for the Spanish army, suffering another devastating loss in the war.
Spain 