The Republic of the Rif (
Tarifit: ''Tagduda n Arrif'', ''Jumhūriyya ar-Rīf''), unofficially The Confederal Republic of the Tribes of the Rif, also recorded as the Riff, was a short-lived republic in northern
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...
that existed between 1921 and 1926. It was created in September 1921, when the
people
A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of prope ...
of the
Rif revolted and declared their independence from
Spanish occupation as well as from the
Moroccan Alawite sultan,
Yusef
Yusuf ibn Ya'qub ibn Ishaq ibn Ibrahim ( ar, يوسف ٱبن يعقوب ٱبن إسحاق ٱبن إبراهيم, Yūsuf ibn Yaʿqūb ibn ʾIsḥāq ibn ʾIbrāhīm, ) is a prophet mentioned in the Quran, and corresponds to Joseph, a perso ...
.
History
In 1921,
Riffians under the leadership of
Abd el-Krim crushed a Spanish offensive under
General Manuel Fernández Silvestre at the
Battle of Annual and soon after declared an independent
republic
A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...
on 18 September 1921. The republic was formally constituted in 1923 with Abd el-Krim as
Head of state
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...
and Ben Hajj Hatmi as
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
.
Abd el-Krim defeated the Spanish many times and drove them back to a few coastal outposts. He wanted to create a stable state for the Berbers to shield them from the long years of fighting. Abd el-Krim sent diplomatic representatives to London and Paris to try to establish diplomatic relations with Europe.
In late 1925, the French and Spanish created a joint task force of half a million men supported by tanks and aircraft. From 1923 onwards, the Spanish used
chemical weapons imported from Germany. The Republic of the Rif was dissolved by Spanish and French occupation forces on 27 May 1926, after the long and bloody battles of the
Rif War, but many Rif
guerrillas continued to fight until 1927.
See also
*
Rif War (1920)
The Rif War () was an armed conflict fought from 1921 to 1926 between Spain (joined by France in 1924) and the Berber tribes of the mountainous Rif region of northern Morocco.
Led by Abd el-Krim, the Riffians at first inflicted several ...
*
Chemical weapons in the Rif War
References
{{Authority control
1921 establishments in Africa
1926 disestablishments
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Republicanism in Morocco
Berber history
Separatism in Morocco
Rif
States and territories established in 1921
States and territories disestablished in 1926
Morocco–Spain relations
Former countries of the interwar period
Islamic states
Former countries
Short-lived governments and regimes