Morocco: Police Use Tear Gas to Halt ’Million-Man March’
Local Editor
Police in the northern Moroccan city of al-Hoceima fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters and stop them marching in defiance of a government ban.
Organizers from the al-Hirak al-Shaabi [Popular Movement] movement dubbed the demonstration the "million-man march" and said it was aimed at protesting "against repression".
Scores of police could be seen around al-Hoceima since early morning on Thursday, and by early afternoon they began sealing off access to all main squares, AFP news agency reported.
By late afternoon hundreds of people began gathering in several meeting points across the city intent on marching as planned, but as they tried to advance the police charged and pushed them back.
Al-Hoceima, the main port in the Rif region, has been hit by unrest since a fish seller was crushed to death in a rubbish truck last year as he tried to retrieve swordfish confiscated for being caught out of season.
Calls for justice snowballed into a wider social movement demanding jobs, development, and an end to corruption in the mainly Berber region, where residents have long complained of neglect and marginalization.
Hirak has won strong support among the region's diaspora, and many former Rif residents living abroad had returned to the city to join the march.
Hours before the protest was to kick off, activists said on Facebook that police had blocked protesters from entering the city, citing "high orders".
Most shops in the city were closed, and there were reports that the Internet and phone service had been temporarily turned off.
The movement gained traction in recent months after the arrest of its leader Nasser Zefzafi, along with 150 of his fellow activists, led to solidarity marches and clashes across the country.
A solidarity march in the capital city Rabat last month drew more than 100,000 protesters, the most since 2011.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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