At least two people have been killed in Morocco after police opened fire to prevent protesters from storming a police station in Lqliaa, near the coastal city of Agadir, state media says.
These are the first deaths reported since huge youth-led protests broke out across Morocco on Saturday as anger grew over the government’s decision to build football stadiums for the 2030 Fifa World Cup rather than improving public services and tackling the economic crisis.
“Stadiums are here, but where are the hospitals?” is a popular chant among the Gen Z protesters.
One demonstrator told BBC Newsday that the hospital in his city, Oujda, on the border with Algeria, was like a “jail”.
It was dirty, and patients had to bribe security officers and nurses to see a doctor, said the protester, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he feared reprisals.
The protests have been happening at night, with police saying they were forced to open fire “in legitimate self-defence” on Wednesday evening to repel the “attack” in Lqliaa, the state-owned news agency reported.
Earlier on Wednesday, the interior ministry said the right of people to protest within the law would be upheld.
Organisers of the youth-led protest movement known as GenZ 212 – the number referring to Morocco’s international dialling code – have distanced themselves from the violence. They have been rallying mainly through social media, and do not have a formal leadership structure.
Official statistics show that Morocco’s unemployment rate stands at 12.8%, with youth unemployment soaring to 35.8% and 19% among graduates, news agency Reuters reports.
Protests have also hit the capital, Rabat, the main commercial city, Casablanca, and the port city of Tangier – the arrival point for tourists going to Morocco by ferry from Spain.
Morocco’s tourist hub, Marrakesh, was also hit by violence, with protesters burning a police station, according to local media.
Interior ministry spokesman Rachid El Khalfi said that 409 people have been detained across Morocco following the unrest.
More than 260 police officers and 20 protesters have been injured, while 40 police vehicles and 20 private cars have been torched, he was quoted as saying.
The uprising follows similar youth-led, large scale demonstrations this summer in Nepal, Indonesia, the Philippines and Madagascar.
The uprising in Nepal led to the prime minister resigning, while Madagascar’s president dissolved his government on Monday in an attempt to placate the protesters there.
Morocco’s governing coalition issued a statement on Tuesday expressing willingness to engage in dialogue with the youth “within institutions and public spaces to find realistic solutions”.
It also praised what it called “the balanced reaction of security authorities in line with relevant legal procedures”.
