Al Hoceima

 ( Populated Places In Al Hoceïma Province ) 

The years from 1956 to 1959 were marked by challenges for the Rif region. Morocco's Hassan II, then crown prince, assumed the role of military commander, and during this period, a significant number of people lost their lives in the Rif. In October 1958, the Beni Urriaguel community rebelled against the central administration, prompting the deployment of two-thirds of Morocco's army, led by Hassan, to Al Hoceima.

In the early 1950s and 1960s, during a period of economic hardship when many of the city's inhabitants were of modest means, the small houses in the city were predominantly painted white and blue. These colors, symbolizing the sea and sky, were commonly regarded as the city's official colors. As economic conditions improved over time, residents began to paint their houses in a wider range of colors.

The city and surrounding villages were hit by two large within ten years. The first ( 6.0 event occurred on May 26, 1994, and the second event ( 6.4) occurred on February 24, 2004,

Al Hoceima is now a moderate-size city with a population of 56,716 recorded in the 2014 Moroccan census. It has the second-largest port of the Rif region (Nador being the largest). The first schools built by the Spanish colonials, (a college and an elementary school) and a Spanish catholic church, still exist today.

Playa Quemado, where General Sanjurjo and his troops landed in 1925, is one of Al Hoceima's well-known beaches. Situated beneath the Mohammed V hotel, the beach is frequented by visitors. The hotel offers amenities such as a tennis court, restaurant, cocktail bar, and nightclub.

Al Hoceima has been the centre of repression by and political protest against the Moroccan government in the 21st century. Five young protesters were murdered, and their burned bodies found in Al Hoceima, in 2011. On October 28, 2016, a fish-seller, Mouhcine Fikri, was crushed to death in a rubbish truck while trying to retrieve fish confiscated by the authorities, which led to large anti-government protests in November 2016 known as Hirak Rif. Protests in Al Hoceima continued after the start of Ramadan, 26 May, and culminated on 26 June with "bloody clashes", then spreading to other parts of northern Morocco and the country. On 7 January 2023, A 5.3 Magnitude Earthquake hit Al Hoceima Province, Nekkour. On 12 February 2023, National Institute of Geophysics announced two earthquakes that occurred in the Al Hoceima region, in the north of the country, measuring 3.8 and 4.3 degrees.