Maroc: deux morts dans un contexte de violences inédites
Two people were shot dead Wednesday evening by gendarmes in Morocco as they attempted to "storm" a brigade, on the second day of violence on the sidelines of a peaceful movement for better education and health systems.
This is the most serious incident since the start of the protests, which were launched on Saturday by a youth group called GenZ 212, whose initiators are unknown.
For the first time, demonstrations were authorized. They brought together hundreds of protesters in Casablanca (west), Tangier, and Tetouan (north), chanting slogans like "The people want the fall of corruption" and "Freedom, dignity, and social justice." Protesters in Casablanca also called for the "departure" of Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch, AFP journalists noted.
But for the second consecutive evening, violence also hit the country.
In Lqliaâ, near Agadir (south), the gendarmes "were forced to use their service weapons, as part of self-defense, to repel an attack and a storming carried out by groups of individuals," indicated the local authorities quoted by the MAP agency.
Two people were killed and others were injured, the source added.
Armed with bladed weapons, the attackers set fire to a vehicle and part of the building before storming the brigade in an "attempt to steal ammunition, equipment and service weapons," it was added.
In Salé, a town near the capital Rabat, hooded individuals also set fire to two police cars and a bank branch without chanting any slogans, an AFP journalist noted.
People also set fire to offices at the headquarters of the rural commune of Sidi Bibi, near Agadir in the south, according to local media.
Acts of vandalism were also committed in small towns such as Kelâat M'Gouna (south) which were not among the demonstration locations designated by the GenZ 212 collective, according to the same sources.
On Tuesday evening, unauthorized demonstrations had already led to clashes with law enforcement in towns such as Oujda (east) and Inzegane, on the outskirts of Agadir (south).
Following this violence, which left nearly 300 people injured, mostly law enforcement officers, more than 400 people were arrested, said Rachid El Khalfi, spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior.
Mr. El Khalfi said that more than 140 police vehicles and 20 private cars were set on fire and that protesters also stormed government offices, bank branches and businesses, particularly in Inzegane and Oujda.
In Rabat, the prosecutor's office decided on Wednesday that a second group of 97 people, including three in detention, would be tried, their lawyer Souad Brahma told AFP, adding that the date of their trial had not yet been set.
A first group of 37 people, including three in detention, is to be tried from October 7, according to Mr. Brahma.
The GenZ 212 group emerged recently through calls for protests on social media platforms like Discord.
It describes itself as a "space for discussion" on "issues that concern all citizens, such as health, education and the fight against corruption," and claims to reject "violence" and act out of "love for the country and for King" Mohammed VI.
In Morocco, social inequality remains a major problem with strong regional disparities and a gap between the public and private sectors.
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