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Moroccan government lashes out at protest organizers in mining town

The Moroccan government has accused Islamist and leftist movements of being behind the ongoing protests in the city of Jerada.
People march and shout slogans during a protest against the lack of jobs and poverty in Jerada, Morocco February 10, 2018. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal - RC13615CF410
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RABAT, Morocco — Morocco’s Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit accused the Justice and Charity Party (Al Adl Wal Ihsane), Democratic Way Party (Annahj) and the Moroccan Association for Human Rights of standing behind the ongoing protests in the northeastern city of Jerada near the border with Algeria. The protests broke out following the death of two brothers in one of the unlicensed coal mines in the city at the end of December.

Speaking April 2 at the meeting of the parliamentary Committee of the Interior and Local Authorities, Laftit said that the legally banned Islamic radical group, the radical left-wing party and the rights association known for its anti-government positions have never acknowledged any of the government’s positive steps in the past years.

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