Mohamed ben Tahar ben Ali commonly known by his nom de guerre Abbas Messaadi was the leader of the Moroccan Army of Liberation before his controversial assassination in June 1956 that would ultimately trigger the 1957 Rif Revolt.
Career
He became known as "Messadi" because he was born in Douar Oulad Ali Boumsaad (أولاد علي بومساعد). His assassination was allegedly ordered by Mehdi Ben Barka. 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.
Membership
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 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.
