Berber separatism in North Africa Demonstrators proclaimed “We are all Zefzafi” and waved Berber flags, with around 40 people arrested. By 30 May, the number of arrested protesters reached 70. Berber separatism in North Africa Berber separatism in North Africa refers to a century-long independence struggle of ethnic Berber groups in the areas of modern Morocco, Algeria, Mali and Libya. The first chapter of this modern separatism was embodied in the Rif War, which led to the creation of short-lived Rif Republic (1920–1926). Despite the disintegration of this Berber state, the independence movement continued during the 20th century in Algeria and in 21st century was
Proto-Berber language are the only Berber languages to preserve Proto-Berber *β as β; elsewhere in Berber it becomes "h" or disappears. The Proto-Berber consonantal system reconstructed by Allati (cf. Allati, 2002, 2011) is based on remains from the ancient stages of this language preserved in the ancient toponymical stratas, in Libyan inscriptions and in the modern Berber varieties. It had stops b, t, d, k, g; fricative s; nasal n and liquids l, r. The stops of the phonological system have evolved since the proto-Berber stage into variants from which other consonants have been progressively formed (Allati, 2002, 2011). Karl G. Prasse