Rabat – The President of the Spanish People’s Party (PP) Pablo Casado visited on January 2 the military cemetery at the Spanish enclave, Melilla, “to pay tribute to the Spanish military “ who participated in the Rif war in 1921.
According to El Diario, the politician visited the cemetery to “to tell the Army thank you for your services, we are with you and with the heroes of Spain who lost their lives for this land, in the Annual Disaster.”
Read Also: Morocco Calls on Spain to’ Open Dialogue’ on Use of Toxic Gas during Rif War
The tribute of Casado followed a statement from Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell, who raised the possibility of healing “wounds 100 years after the Rif War and the Battle of Annual.
Morocco’s resistance, which was led by Abd El Krim El Khattabi, defeated Spain’s soldiers.
Spanish observers called the battle “the disaster of Annual” because of the numerous deaths of Spanish soldiers.
Approximately 13,000 Spanish soldiers died in the battle. December marked the 97h anniversary of the battle.
Read Also: Mohammed Ben Abdelkrim El Khattabi: the Immortal Legend of an Exceptional Hero
Spain is accused of using toxic gas during the Rif war under the instruction of King Alfonso XIII in 1923. Morocco’s government has long called for Spain to open dialogue on the unprecedented decision to use poison gas during the war, which violated the Treaty of Versaille signed in 1919.
