Police van injures protester as anti-government protests turn violent in Morocco

A police vehicle that rammed into demonstrators in Morocco left one person injured as anti-government protests spread across the North African country this week, the state news agency reported.

The protests — responding to calls on social media — have been the largest anti-government demonstrations in years in Morocco, with mainly young people denouncing what they call the government’s misplaced priorities.

On Tuesday, young Moroccans took to the streets for the fourth straight day, often clashing with security forces.

Local outlets and footage from the scene filmed by witnesses show protesters hurling rocks and setting vehicles ablaze.

Police in full riot gear hit some of the demonstrators with batons and arrested others.

In Oujda, eastern Morocco’s largest city, the state news agency, Map, said a man who was hit by a police vehicle was stable and receiving medical care after the incident.

The youth movement originated on social media platforms popular among the young, including Discord and TikTok, to take aim at Morocco’s government and claiming that officials have poured money into investments related to the 2030 FIFA World Cup while neglecting social services like healthcare and education.

The leaderless Gen Z 212 movement, as the protesters have called themselves, has harnessed anger about conditions in hospitals and schools to express outrage over the government’s priorities.

Over the weekend, protests across Morocco saw more than 100 people arrested — both women and men, including a well-known podcaster and rapper, the Moroccan Association for Human Rights said on Sunday.

Videos have also surfaced showing police hauling protesters into vans as crowds shout to denounce conditions in Morocco.

Officers have detained people mid-interviews for television stations, according to local media.

Protesters in smaller cities like Inzegane and the province Chtouka Ait Baha have since joined in, deepening clashes, according to local media and eyewitness videos.