Anger boils in Morocco’s earthquake zone as protesters demand promised emergency aid

AMIZMIZ, Morocco (AP) — Hundreds of protesters on Tuesday took to the streets of a city near the epicentre of a devastating earthquake that hit Morocco last month to express anger and frustration after weeks of waiting for emergency assistance.

Flanked by honking cars and motorcycles, demonstrators in the High Atlas town of Amizmiz chanted against the government as law enforcement tried to contain the crowds.

The protest followed a worker's strike and torrential weekend storms that exacerbated hardship for residents living in tents near the remains of their former homes.

“Amizmiz is down!,” men yelled in Tachelhit, Morocco's most widely spoken Indigenous language.

Entire neighbourhoods were levelled by the Sept. 8 quake, forcing thousands to relocate to temporary shelters.

In Amizmiz and the surrounding villages of Morocco's Al Haouz province, nearly everyone lost a family member or friend.

Tuesday's protest was initially organised by a group called Amizmiz Earthquake Victims' Coordination to draw attention to “negligence by local and regional officials” and to denounce how some residents had been excluded from emergency aid.

“The state of the camps is catastrophic,” Mohamed Belhassan, the coordinator of the group told the Moroccan news site Hespress.

The group, however, called off its planned march after meeting with local authorities who ultimately pledged to address their concerns.

Despite the organisers' cancellation, hundreds still took to the streets to protest the conditions.

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