[Ennahar] Five people were killed and 128 were maimed, including 115 members of security forces, during disturbances that followed the peaceful events which took place Sunday in Morocco, officials said Monday ."The charred bodies of five people were found inside one of the bank branches burned by the troublemakers in the town of Al Hoceima" in the north, "said Interior Minister Taib Cherkaoui In a statement to the press.
An investigation is underway, added the minister, adding that 120 people were nabbed following disturbances in a half-dozen Moroccan cities. Minors nabbed were handed over to their families.
Thousands of people marched Sunday in several cities in Morocco to demand political reform and limiting the powers of the king, responding to a call by young people on Facebook and taken up by various NGOs and organizations.
The interior minister argued that "democratic practice" of Morocco and the "right to freedom of expression in the country", have ensured that the demonstrations Sunday "took place in a peaceful atmosphere imbued by serenity and discipline."
The minister said some 37,000 people have participated in these gatherings.
But trouble erupted after demonstrations in the cities of Tangier, Tetouan, Larache, Al Hoceima in the north and Marrakech in the south Guelmin as well as Sefrou (center). The Minister attributed the violence to "troublemakers, including minors and habitual criminals."
In Larache, the "troublemakers," he said, have invested a customs building and seized drugs and liquor that were seized by customs.
Cherkaoui has finally stated that 33 public buildings, 24 banks, 50 shops and private buildings and 66 vehicles were burned or damaged.