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Why did Abd el-Krim reject peace negotiations with Miguel Primo de Rivera?

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Spanish soldiers operate artillery cannons in a desert landscape near Melilla, with smoke billowing as a cannon fires during a 1930s battle. — Rif War Spanish artillery firing outside Melilla during the Rif War.

Abd el-Krim rejected peace negotiations with Miguel Primo de Rivera because he refused to accept any agreement that did not explicitly recognize the full sovereignty of the Republic of the Rif.1

By late 1924, the Spanish government sought to negotiate while simultaneously withdrawing forces from the western part of the protectorate due to the high financial cost and domestic unpopularity of the Rif War. However, Abd el-Krim, who was at the height of his power and influence during this period, viewed these negotiations as insufficient to meet his goal of independence. Instead of engaging in the proposed peace process, he quickly moved his forces to occupy the territory vacated by the retreating Spanish army.12