Ait Touzine


Ait Touzine is a Riffian tribe from the central Rif region in Morocco. Interestingly the name Ait Touzine in its Berber original form is 'Asht Uzin' meaning "The Children of the Half" perhaps implying a mixed ancestry.
The territory of the Ait Touzine tribe extends from the Nekour River near Al Hoceima to Driouch and from Temsamane to the Gzenaya tribe.
The Ait Touzine tribesmen played an important role during the Rif War in the 1920s. They fought together with tribes such as Ait Ouriaghel led by the Riffian resistance fighter Abd el-Krim and tribes such as Ait Oulichek to fight against the Spanish Invaders. This resulted in a major military defeat for the Spanish at the Battle of Annual.
Nowadays a large number of these tribesmen are living in Europe as a result of the migration in the early 1970s. Most of them moved to the Netherlands and Belgium.
Beni Touzine is also the name of a caïdat in the cercle of Rif in Driouch Province, Oriental, Morocco.