Rif Republic
The Rif Republic ( Central Atlas Tamazight ⵜⴰⴳⴷⵓⴷⴰ ⵏ ⴰⵔⵔⵉⴼ Tagduda n Arrif , Arabic جمهورية الريف, DMG Ǧumhūriyyat ar-Rīf , full name Confederate Republic of the Tribes of the Rifs ) was founded in 1920, before the 3rd Rif War (1921–1926), by the tribes of the Rifkabylenes who were fighting for independence from Spanish Morocco under Mohammed ben Abdelkrim el Khattabi ( Berber ) proclaimed. The independence of the Rif region from Spain was proclaimed on September 18, 1921 with Abdelkrim as Amir ar-Rif . The government of the young state was formally constituted on February 1, 1923, now with Abdelkrim as head of state ("Ra'is ad-Dawla"). The first prime minister of the republic was Hajj Hatmi.
The capital was Axdir ( Ajdir ), a small town near Al-Hoceima . The population of the republic at that time consisted of approximately 150,000 people.
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In 1925, a combined Franco-Spanish army of 250,000 men under Marshal Philippe Pétain was formed to subdue the Rif. After a year-long struggle, the Rif Republic was broken up on May 27, 1926. In spite of the prohibition imposed by the Hague Land Warfare Regulations, mustard gas was used.
literature
- Dirk Sasse: French, British and Germans in the Rif War 1921–1926. Speculators and sympathizers, deserters and gamblers in the service of Abdelkrim. in: Pariser Historische Studien Vol. 7, R. Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-486-57983-5 .