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Al Hoceima : Escalation on the first day of Eid Al-Fitr

Al Hoceima witnessed on Monday violent clashes between demonstrators and the police. The number of injured persons is unknown.

Protesters in the Rif facing the police./Ph. Archive. AFP
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On the first day of Eid Al-Fitr, demonstrators in Al Hoceima clashed with the police. Security measures put this morning, including the installation of roadblocks along the roads leading to the capital of the Rif, did not prevent people from gathering for the march scheduled at 3 pm to call for the release of the Hirak detainees.

Thus, dozens were able to overcome the plans put forward by the police and to head towards where the march is supposed to take place on foot through the mountains surrounding the city.

The protest was accompanied with clashes. Al Hoceima was not the only area of violence between the two camps. Other communities in the province have not been spared this tension.

The protest was met with violence. Al Hoceima was not the only city where violence took place between the two camps. Other local villages have also been subject to the clashes.

Escalation

The images and videos that circulate for a few hours on the internet are disturbing. On this religious feast day, the violence has surpassed a notch dissipating the hope given following the provisional release granted to Mortada Iamrachen.

The authorities prohibited the inhabitants of certain villages from going to Al Hoceima to take part in the great march which contributed greatly to this escalation.

For example, the village of Ajdir experienced, in the early evening, skirmishes. The youngsters threw stones at the police, who as a response they used water jets to disperse the manifestation. Tires were also burnt and smoke was released from the town's headquarters, reports a local media.

It is still early to give a number for the people who were injured in both camps in during the clashes. However, local media platforms and Facebook pages report that ambulance sirens were heard in many parts of the region.

Moreover, some families of the «Hirak» detainees have hoisted black flags on their houses as a sign of sadness following the imprisonment of their relatives.

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