Rank General Name Abbas Messaadi | Resting place Ajdir | |
Occupation Leader of the Moroccan Army of Liberation Died June 27, 1956, Fes, Morocco Allegiance Moroccan Army of Liberation | ||
Mohamed ben Tahar ben Ali commonly known by his nom de guerre Abbas Messaadi (Arabic: عباس مساعدي; 1925–27 June 1956) was the leader of the Moroccan Army of Liberation before his controversial assassination in June 1956 that would ultimately trigger the Rif Revolt (1957-1959). He became known as "Messadi" because he was born in Douar Oulad Ali Boumsaad (أولاد علي بومساعد).
Abbas was running a military camp in Aknoul and was assassinated in Fes in June 1956 allegedly by Karim Hajjaj, a member of the Istiqlal party. His assassination was allegedly ordered by Mehdi Ben Barka. Karim Hajjaj was arrested and convicted of his murder but was later pardoned by the king Mohammed V. It is claimed that his true assassins were thugs from Taza, who were hired for his execution.
He was first buried in Fes but in 1957 his remains were transferred to Ajdir, the stronghold of Mohamed ben Abdelkrim al-Khattabi, against the wishes of the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior then controlled by the Istiqlal party. When security forces were sent by the ministry to repatriate the body to Fes, this sparked clashes with the population in Ajdir which led to the Rif revolt.
His killing was the first in a series of assassinations directed against members of the Moroccan Army of liberation and other factions competing with the Istiqlal party and the Alaouite family