Arrests after violence Reef area

After a violent confrontation between demonstrators and the police in the Moroccan city of Al-Hoceima in the Reef area, twenty people have been arrested in two days.

The riots began Friday night after the police were looking for activist Nasser Zefzafi, who had disturbed the Friday prayer in the local mosque. He is the leader of a protest movement that opposes the corruption of the state and the oppression of the population.

Zefzafi was able to flee the city with the assistance of fellow citizens who hit the police. Three agents and several protesters ended up in the hospital. The arrested protesters were, according to the prosecutor, a 'threat to national security'.

Since last October, it is uneasy in the northern city of Al-Hoceima. That month, the fisherman Mouhcine Fikri died. His fish was seized and thrown into the trash because they would be caught out of season. Fikri dook behind his merchandise but came over when the stain in the garbage truck was turned on.

The issue has led to fierce protests, involving thousands of people.