Star Metro - Two killed as violence flares in Morocco protests

Demonstrations have convulsed Morocco for several days, urged on by the GenZ 212 group, a recently formed collective based on the Discord web platform whose organisers remain unknown.

Morocco's interior ministry said on Wednesday that more than 400 people had been arrested and nearly 300 injured during the rallies, which are demanding reforms to the public health and education sectors.

A group of people tried later that evening to "storm" a police station in Lqliaa, near the coastal city of Agadir, the government-owned MAP news agency reported, citing local officials.

Officers "were forced to use their service weapons, in legitimate self-defence, to repel (the) attack", which aimed to "seize ammunition, equipment and service weapons", MAP quoted the unnamed officials as saying.

The officials said police beat back an initial attack, but the group came at them again, wielding "bladed weapons", MAP reported.

"During this attempt, two people died from gunshot wounds, while others were injured during their participation in the attack" the officials said.

A judicial investigation into the incident had been opened, MAP reported.

Hundreds of protesters gathered on Wednesday in several Moroccan cities, including Casablanca, Tangier and Tetouan.

The rallies were taking place with official authorisation for the first time since their initial outbreak on Saturday.

Demonstrators called for "the fall of corruption" as well as "freedom, dignity and social justice", and some called for Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch to step down.

Many, but not all, of the protests have been peaceful.

An AFP journalist in Sale, a city near the capital Rabat, witnessed people wearing hoods setting fire to police cars and a bank branch.

Local media also reported incidents of vandalism in Sidi Bibi near Agadir, and in small towns that GenZ 212 had not designated as protest sites.

- Clashes -

On Tuesday, unauthorised protests turned violent in cities including Oujda and Inzegane.

Ministry spokesman Rachid El Khalfi said the clashes involved protesters using knives, Molotov cocktails and stones.

A total of 263 police officers were wounded to varying degrees, along with 23 protesters, including one hospitalised in Oujda.

El Khalfi said 409 people were detained following the unrest, during which more than 140 police vehicles and 20 private cars were set ablaze.

"Protesters also stormed government offices, bank branches and shops, looting and vandalising them," especially in Inzegane and Oujda, he said.

AFP footage showed tense confrontations lasting several hours along a main avenue in Inezgane.

In Rabat, prosecutors decided on Wednesday that a group of 97 people, including three in detention, would face trial, according to their lawyer, Souad Brahma. Another 26 people were released without charges, she said.

Prosecutors had already said an initial group of 37 people, including three in detention, would face trial on Tuesday, said Brahma.

GenZ 212, which expressed "regret" over Tuesday's violence, describes itself as a "discussion space" focused on issues affecting all citizens, such as health, education and fighting corruption.

Social inequality remains a major issue in Morocco, with sharp regional disparities and a significant gap between the public and private sectors.

L.Mitchell--SMC