Rif War Prisoners Through Spanish Documents

The Rif War, which raged in northern Morocco between 1921 and 1927, left many killed and wounded, with many prisoners taken by both sides. While Spanish researchers were concerned with the issue of their citizens captured by the Moroccan resistance movement, Moroccan prisoners, save a few sporadic references, have not been the subject of studies. This contribution aims to shed light on the Moroccan POWs who had fallen into the hands of the Spanish army, with a focus on prison spaces, prison conditions, and types of prisoners, as well as political and military leader Mohamed ibn Abdelkrim El-Khattabi ’s stance on the issue of prisoners. It draws upon a collection of documents of the High Commission of Spain in Morocco that are preserved in the General Archives of the Spanish Administration, located in Alcalá de Henares.

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The Rif War, which raged in northern Morocco between 1921 and 1927, left many killed and wounded, with many prisoners taken by both sides. While Spanish researchers were concerned with the issue of their citizens captured by the Moroccan resistance movement, Moroccan prisoners, save a few sporadic references, have not been the subject of studies. This contribution aims to shed light on the Moroccan POWs who had fallen into the hands of the Spanish army, with a focus on prison spaces, prison conditions, and types of prisoners, as well as political and military leader Mohamed ibn Abdelkrim El-Khattabi ’s stance on the issue of prisoners. It draws upon a collection of documents of the High Commission of Spain in Morocco that are preserved in the General Archives of the Spanish Administration, located in Alcalá de Henares.

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