ALBAWABA - Two protesters were shot dead by security forces in Morocco on Wednesday evening as they attempted to storm a Royal Moroccan Gendarmerie site in the south of the kingdom, local media reported.
Unrest and violent attacks have spread across Morocco following calls for demonstrations launched by the "Generation Z 212" youth movement.
The Gen Z protests started on Sept. 27 as demonstrators peacefully rallied against corruption and chanted to enhance education, employment and health sectors in the country.
The Moroccan News Agency quoted a local authority source in the southern province of Inzegane as saying that Royal Gendarmerie personnel in the town of El Qalaa "were forced to use weapons, in legitimate self-defense, to repel an attack and storming of the Royal Gendarmerie station, in an attempt to seize ammunition, equipment, and weapons. Two people died from their gunshot wounds."
The source further outlined that several other people were injured, without specifying their number.
The source explained that groups of people threw stones at the Royal Gendarmerie station and attempted to storm it, but were repelled "with tear gas."
Gen Z 212 protests in Morocco:
Gen Z 212 protests rocked the streets across several Moroccan cities, including Rabat, Casablanca, Tanja and Oujda, where demonstrators called for the end of corruption and improvement to the health and education sectors, in addition to the end of unemployment.
Protesters were heard chanting 'no World Cup, health first', as they asked the government to use the money for building more hospitals rather than stadiums, highlighting that FIFA agreed that Morocco, Spain and Portugal would host the FIFA World Cup in 2030.
