About Bni Chiker
Beni Chiker (Berber: Ayt Ciker or Aït Chichar, pronounced: Ayt Chiker) is a small town in north-east Morocco, in the Rif region, in the Nador province, 4 km from Melilla and 25 km from the town of Nador.
It has a total population of 23,050 inhabitants (2004).
The population is essentially Berber-speaking, and a significant part of the population speaks and understands Spanish, notably thanks to the proximity of the Spanish enclave of Melilla.
Beni Chiker is one of the high places of the struggle against the Spanish and then French armies, which acted officially by virtue of the protectorate agreements passed by the Sultan of Morocco, Moulay Abd al-Hafid, with France and Spain during the Rif War.
In the sixties, hundreds of workers left the village for Europe. The village is known for its Sunday market (Souk) and its Spanish barracks, which are now destroyed.
