Rabat: The official reported “an alarmingly large number of minors involved, accounting for over 70% of the overall participants, and 100% in some cases.” These acts included the use of bladed weapons, stone hurling, gas canister explosions, and fires set in rubber tires, El Khalfi told the press on Thursday.
According to Agence Marocaine De Presse, a particularly unfortunate aspect of vandalism and violence was the massive involvement of children and minors, which accounted in several cases for the overall number of participants. Public authorities carried on their legal interventions across several regions on Wednesday evening, October 1, 2025, to manage protest forms in line with legal frameworks in place, in a way that guarantees public security and order and prevents threat to the safety of individuals and property, he added.
These interventions were conducted in accordance with constitutional and judicial provisions relating to maintaining public order and safeguarding rights and freedoms, and stemming from their institutional duties. The violence and rioting acts have unfortunately taken more dangerous and severe dimensions in several areas, as troublemakers engaged in assaults using bladed weapons, along with barging and storming into state-owned premises and security services buildings, as witnessed in Leqliaa, the Inezgane Ait-Melloul prefecture, he said.
The town saw a group of people attempting to seize ammunition, equipment, and service weapons put at the disposal of these security services, compelling the Royal Gendarmerie officers to use their service weapons in self-defense, claiming 3 lives, he reported. Data regarding Wednesday night’s events report a total of 354 wounded to varying degrees, including 326 law enforcement officers assigned to maintain order, while significant damage was registered in 271 law enforcement vehicles and 175 private others, according to the same source.
In addition to violence, vandalism, and plunder targeting about 80 public premises including administrative, health, security and municipal buildings, banks, and commercial buildings in 23 provinces and prefectures, he pointed out. The official underscored that the necessary legal procedures have been initiated against the suspects involved in these criminal acts, under the supervision of the competent public prosecution’s office.
He noted that several adults have been placed in police custody, while the minors’ holding procedure has been initiated to facilitate the investigation, all in strict adherence to the procedural guarantees and measures provided by law, while ensuring the protection of their rights and freedoms. Committed to keeping the national public opinion informed of development, the Ministry of the Interior, the official emphasized, underlines that public authorities remain engaged to fulfill their duties in accordance with constitutional and institutional responsibilities, by safeguarding public order and ensuring that rights and liberties are exercised within their legitimate and legally defined boundaries.
Public authorities will carry out law enforcement and order-maintaining operations aimed at arresting all those involved in acts of violence and rioting, with the necessary rigor and firmness required by its duty in facing all illegal acts, while strictly adhering to its legal competences and attributions in force, he noted. Worthy to note that all necessary legal measures will be taken stringently against anyone proven to have engaged in criminal acts or behaviors, in line with prescribed legal procedures and under the supervision of the competent public prosecutor’s office.