
The Moroccan army committed a failed coup on July 10, 1971 against the king in the palace of Skhirat. The following year Air Force officers conducted a new coup, this time the plane of King Hassan II, on the return trip from France, was attacked in the air by fighter jets.
In the near future, the Amazigh Information Centum will publish more short articles on this historical event. We will do this by means of testimonies of persons who were present during this incident, such as the fighter pilot Salah Hachad or referencing books of critical authors such as Gilles Perrault, Stephen Smith or various newspaper articles.
Riffian group of friends in Kenitra

In addition to Louafi Kouera, Lieutenant Colonel Amekrane also had a friend in Kenitra, the physician Omar el Khattabi (1926–2006) nephew of the Riffian resistance hero Mohamed ben Abdelkrim el Khattabi (1882–1962). He had a clinic in Kenitra and got to know Amekrane in 1969. Amekrane and Kouera regularly visited him. Omar el Khattabi visited his friend Amekrane on the military base of Kenitra. In this city they were called the “Riffian group”, referring to the area where they all came from. After the unsuccessful coup of 1972, the friendship of Omar el Khattabi with Lt. Col. Amekrane will have very serious consequences for the Riffian doctor.

General Oufkir asked King Hassan II to promote Lt. Col. Amekrane as deputy commander of the Moroccan Air Force, commanded by Col. Hassan Lyoussi. Two months before the coup attempt took place, Lt. Col. Amekrane was promoted to deputy commander of the Moroccan Air Force. Major Kouera succeeded him as commander of the Kenitra airbase and Captain Salah Hachad became the deputy commander of the airbase.

Source:https://medium.com/@AmazighInformatieCentrum/de-aanslag-op-het-vliegtuig-van-de-koning-van-marokko-1972-deel-4-dfd485390b62
Translated by: Najat M.