The sit-in of a man in his forties named Bouabid, atop a water tower in Beni Mellal, ended in a tragic suicide attempt early Saturday morning, following three weeks of protest over what he described as the «mysterious» death of his father. A case that had initially drawn widespread sympathy took a disturbing turn after he assaulted a member of the civil protection team, pushing the situation into a dangerous new phase.
On the morning of Wednesday, July 9, residents of Aït Bouguemez launched a peaceful protest march toward the Azilal provincial headquarters and the Beni Mellal-Khenifra regional administration. They are demanding long-overdue basic development rights, denouncing what they describe as the region’s «systematic marginalization» in the heart of the High Atlas Mountains.