Street demonstrations resume in northeastern Morocco

OUJDA, Morocco (AA) - Street protests have resumed in Morocco’s northeastern city of Jerada to demand more job opportunities and the release of demonstrators arrested in recent weeks.

City residents hit the streets late Thursday to demand more employment opportunities and stepped-up development of the region.

Protests first began in Jerada last December, when two coalminers were killed in an accident. The demonstrations escalated in February -- this time in the city’s populous Al-Manar district -- following the death of a third coalminer.

The protests, however, appeared to have petered out in recent weeks following clashes in March between security forces and demonstrators during which several of the latter were arrested.

“But the protests resumed late Thursday due to the lack of response by the authorities to our demands to release detained demonstrators,” protester Said Ashour told Anadolu Agency.

Moroccan protesters complain of economic “marginalization” and a chronic lack of employment despite repeated government promises to create job opportunities and promote regional development.