Demonstrators in Morocco filled the streets for a fifth straight night on Wednesday, as protests over the state of public services descended into deadly violence.
Police opened fire at protesters in a southern town, reportedly in self-defense, killing two people.
The deaths in Leqliaa, about 500km south of the capital, Rabat, were the first fatalities as anger mounts across the north African country over conditions and government spending.
Photo: AFP
Morocco’s state news agency, MAP, cited local authorities as saying the two “troublemakers” were killed by police acting in self-defense.
It said those shot were attempting to seize police weapons.
No eyewitnesses corroborated the report.
Photo: AFP
There were no further details.
The demonstrations, organized by a movement dominated by young people, have taken the country by surprise and emerged as some of Morocco’s biggest in years. By midweek, they appeared to be spreading to new locations despite a lack of permits from authorities.
Those taking part in the so-called “Gen Z protests” decry what they see as widespread corruption. Through chants and posters, they have contrasted the flow of billions in investment toward preparation for the 2030 FIFA World Cup, while many schools and hospitals lack funds and remain in a dire state.
However, chants were fewer as violence broke out in several cities on Wednesday evening, following days of mass arrests in more than a dozen cities, particularly in places where jobs are scarce and social services lacking.
In Sale, a city just across the river from Morocco’s capital, an Associated Press reporter saw hundreds of masked young people torching vehicles, banks and shops, smashing windows and looting, with no police in sight.
The chaos came despite warnings from authorities, political parties in government, and the opposition and the organizers themselves.
In a statement published on Discord, the Gen Z 212 protest movement earlier on Wednesday implored protesters to remain peaceful and blasted “repressive security approaches.”
“The right to health, education and a dignified life is not an empty slogan, but a serious demand,” the organizers said.
Still, the protests have escalated and became more destructive on Tuesday and Wednesday, particularly in cities far from where development efforts have been concentrated in Morocco.
Local media and footage filmed by witnesses on Tuesday showed protesters hurling rocks and setting vehicles ablaze in cities and towns in the country’s east and south, including in Inzegane and Ait Amira.
In Oujda, eastern Morocco’s largest city, a police vehicle that rammed into demonstrators in Morocco left one person injured, local human rights groups and MAP said.
In its first public statement since the start of the protests on Saturday, the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior said that the anonymously organized demonstrations lacked authorization and were dealt with according to the law, adding that those found to be breaking it would be treated “rigorously and firmly.”
It said that 409 people were taken into police custody.
Additionally, 263 members of law enforcement were injured during the nationwide protests that also damaged 142 of their vehicles, the ministry said.
Twenty private vehicles were also damaged and 23 civilians were injured, it said.
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