Governor of Al Hoceima Fired After Latest Protests

The ministry of Interior has dismissed the Governor of Al Hoceima Province, Mohamed Zhar. He has been temporally replaced by the General Inspector of the Interior Ministry, Mohamed Fawzi, “until the nomination by King Mohammed VI of a new governor,” announced Interior Minister Mohamed Hassad on Tuesday.

“This measure aims to restore a new climate in the region of Hoceima, to give an answer to expectations of its inhabitants, and also to help gather the conditions of sustainable socio-economic development,” said the minister during a meeting held in Hoceima’s provincial headquarters.

According to the communiqué reported by MAP, this meeting had been in reaction to the “recent developments witnessed in the region.” Hassad also called on civil society actors, and elected bodies to “join the collective mobilization to develop the region.”

“They also should give an answer to the expectations of inhabitants,” he stressed.

On March 26th, a group of demonstrators threw stones at a police building and set fire to its surroundings in the Ait Youssef Ou Ali commune in Al Hoceima. Four police cars, a public bus and a private car were burnt. These acts of hooliganism caused damage to the police residence as well as to a civil protection tanker.

The region has seen an upsurge of protests and social unrest recently, following the death of Mouchine Fikri, a fishmonger who was crushed in a garbage truck after attempting to rescue his fish disposed there by police last October.

Since then, numerous demonstrations have been organized in Al Hoceima in support of Fikri and against the police. In early February, clashes broke out between demonstrators and law enforcement in the city, injuring nearly 30 policemen.

Source :Morocco World News