Youth protesting in Rabat, the capital of Morocco, demanding healthcare and education reforms. AFP Yonhap News. 

“Gen Z protests” are intensifying in Morocco as well. The protests, led by Generation Z (born in the mid-to-late 1990s and early 2000s), which began in Southeast Asia in defiance of entrenched corruption and economic inequality, are now spreading globally to Latin America, Africa, and beyond.

According to Reuters and other news outlets on the 1st (local time), Moroccan youth protesters demanding improved education and healthcare services from the government clashed with police in several cities the previous day.

Youth groups loosely organized online under the name "Gen Z 212" have been protesting for four consecutive days since the 27th in the capital Rabat and southern and eastern cities, criticizing the government's budget spending practices.

They chanted slogans such as "The people want an end to corruption."

Young people took to the streets, expressing great disappointment that the government is heavily investing funds in co-hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup and hosting the Africa Cup of Nations.

According to local reports and eyewitness accounts, protesters overturned government vehicles and set fire to banks in Ait Amira, 560 kilometers from the capital, and in the southern city of Inezgane, masked protesters clashed with police who used water cannons.

In Temara, near the capital, hundreds of young protesters threw stones at security forces who attempted to disperse the gathering. Videos posted online showed cars on fire and protesters rushing into a large supermarket.

Morocco's state news agency MAP reported that a young man in the eastern city of Oujda sustained serious injuries after being hit by a security forces vehicle.

The Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) stated that 37 youths who participated in the protests were released on bail after questioning, and 24 protesters who blocked the Casablanca highway two days prior are under investigation by the prosecutor's office.

The Moroccan Interior Ministry announced in a statement that 263 police officers and 23 civilians were injured in the violent protests that occurred in several cities the previous night. The statement added that protesters used knives, threw Molotov cocktails and stones, and 409 individuals were detained by the police.

In a previous statement, the Moroccan government expressed its willingness to engage in dialogue with the youth to seek practical solutions within "an institutional framework and public forum."

Yonhap News