'We are defiant' Youth protests resume despite police crackdown

Hundreds detained as demonstrators take to the streets to campaign against corruption, the underfunding of healthcare and education

- By Renée Boskaljon

Ayoub Oubalat shares a picture of what he says is his younger brother covered with a white blanket. The man’s eyes are closed and his left eye is bruised blue. At the crown of his head a hole is visible within his dark curly hair, the entry point where the bullet pierced, now shaved and stitched with blue and black thread.

A recently graduated filmmaker, Abdessamade, 24, and two others were allegedly killed on 1 October when security forces opened fire on protesters in the town of Lqliâa, near the Atlantic coastal town of Agadir.

Authorities claim Abdessamade was part of a group that violently stormed the local police station, to which officers responded with fire. But Ayoub says his brother was a “peaceful man” who had found himself near the protests and spontaneously started filming.

Ayoub says his brother had actually applied to join the police force just two days before his death. "He wanted to serve his country, and needed a stable job to buy new equipment for his films," he said.

The death is one of three reported as a wave of youth-led gen Z protests has gripped Morocco over recent weeks. Protesters have criticised the underfunding of healthcare and education facilities amid spending on expensive stadiums as the country gears up to co-host the 2030 Fifa World Cup.

The Genz 212 protests, named after Morocco's international dialling code, have been met with a strong response from police, with reports of more than 500 arrests made within the first six days.