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Why did Abd el-Krim send Rif fighters into the French protectorate in 1925?

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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.

In 1925, Abd el-Krim ordered his Rif fighters to move into the French protectorate primarily to secure essential supply lines and critical sources of foodstuffs.1

The insurgency had previously relied on northern groups and cities within the French-controlled territory for contraband and supplies. However, these resources were increasingly threatened by French efforts to restrict them, prompting Abd el-Krim to take military action on April 12, 1925. While the offensive was initially successful—inflicting significant casualties and endangering the urban centers of Fès and Taza—it ultimately proved detrimental to the Rifian cause. The incursion forced the French and Spanish colonial powers to form a unified military alliance, which eventually overwhelmed the Republic of the Rif with superior manpower and technology.21