Rif (redirected from Rifain)

Rif (rĭf) or Rif Atlas, range of the Atlas Mts., NE Morocco, NW Africa, curving along the Mediterranean coast from Ceuta to Melilla. Tidighin (8,056 ft/2,455 m) is the highest peak. Composed of sedimentary rocks and uplifted during the Alpine orogeny, the range is a continuation of the Sierra Nevada of Spain and is separated from it by the Strait of Gibraltar. Iron mining is the principal economic activity; kif (cannabis) is grown. The region is inhabited by Berbers, who generally were independent of any central authority until subdued (1925–26) by the campaign of France and Spain against Abd el-Krim.

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Rif

Muslim Berber people who live in El-Rif in northern Morocco. Their culture is based on cultivation, herding, and fish processing. They speak a dialect of Berber, but Arabic and Spanish are also widely used. They have traditionally flouted central-government control and have often instigated uprisings and attempted coups. Led by Abd el-Krim, they declared a short-lived independent republic, the Republic of the Rif (1921–26), which was quashed by a French-Spanish alliance.