Troops said to have shot rioters

Press, 23 January 1984, Page 8

Troops said to have shot rioters

NZPA-AF Rabat Soldiers opened fire on rioters protesting against increased food prices in northern Morocco, killing dozens of people, according to news reports and travellers from the area. Estimates of the number of people killed in riots in six cities and towns on Thursday and Friday ranged from two reported by French television to 100 reported by the Spanish news agency, E.F.E. Government officials denied there had been any deaths. The Government imposed a news black-out on the disturbances and prevented journalists from visiting the region. Information was sketchy and sometimes contradictory. E.F.E., quoting travellers arriving at Melilla, Spain, from northern Morocco, said that there were reports of more than 100 deaths in Alhucemas, a fishing town on the Moroccan coast halfway between Tangier and Melilla. Melilla, a Spanish enclave in northern Morocco, is 13km east of Nador, where riots were said to have broken out on Thursday. The newspaper, “Telegrama de Melilla,” said that it received unconfirmed reports that 25 people had been killed in Nador late on Thursday when troops opened fire on them from a helicopter. It said that there had been widespread disturbances and unconfirmed reports of dozens killed.

Mohand Mohand, a Moroccan living in Melilla, said that the disturbances had begun at Nador on Thursday when students protested against increased school fees.