Thousands staged demonstrations for a fifth night running in northern Morocco to demand the release of the leader of a months-long protest movement in the neglected Rif region. The region has been shaken by social unrest since the death in October of fishmonger Mouhcine Fikri, 31, who was crushed in a rubbish truck in the fishing port of Al-Hoceima as he protested against the seizure of swordfish caught out of season.
Initial protests triggered a wider movement demanding more development in the region and railing against corruption, repression and unemployment. Nasser Zefzafi, who has emerged as the head of the grassroots Al-Hirak al-Shaabi, or "Popular Movement", was arrested on Monday after three days on the run.
On Tuesday night, shouting slogans such as "We are all Zefzafi" and "dignity for the Rif", the protesters took to the streets of central Hoceima after breaking the dawn-to-dusk Muslim fast of Ramadan. The protesters, including women and children, held aloft hundreds of pictures of Zefzafi.
Others held up berber flags, the symbol of a strongly-felt regional identity in an area many claim has long been neglected by central authorities. One brandished a sign saying "Free the prisoners or put us all in prison!" Anti-riot police attempted to disperse the demonstrators, but pulled back following a tense but non-violent standoff.
Zefzafi was arrested on Monday morning for "attacking internal security". A warrant for his arrest issued Friday sparked turmoil in Al-Hoceima, a city of 56,000 inhabitants, sparking clashes between demonstrators and security forces over the weekend. "I'm proud of my son, he acted like a man," Zefzafi's tearful mother told AFP.
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