RABAT/CASABLANCA (Reuters) – Moroccan police beat dozens of protesters who defied a ban on demonstrations on Sunday, leading to several injuries and arrests, witnesses said.

The police violence appears to signal a tougher government line against the protest movement, which has become more defiant after festive demonstrations starting in February.

RABAT (Reuters) – Moroccan forces used truncheons to disperse a pro-democracy protest on the southern outskirts of the kingdom’s capital Rabat on Sunday, wounding several people, a Reuters reporter at the scene said.

Dozens of protesters belonging to the February 20 anti-government movement were attempting to hold a protest picnic in front of what they allege is a secret government detention center in the Temara area where Islamists are held.

MARRAKESH, Morocco, May 12 (Reuters) – Moroccan Abdelhadi
Fetouaki is reviewing the rationale of having a dried fruits and
nuts stall right in front of what used to be one of Jamaa
el-Fna’s busiest cafes.

To allow investigators to look into the April 28 attack,
which killed 17 people including eight French nationals,
Fetouaki had to stay at home for the six days that followed it.

MARRAKESH, Morocco (Reuters) – Thousands of protesters marched in Morocco on Sunday to demand reform in the Arab world’s longest-serving dynasty and to oppose militant violence after a deadly bomb attack.

The rally in Marrakesh is the latest in a series organized by the February 20 youth movement and presents a challenge to the government of King Mohammed, which is wary that the protests could build into an Egypt-style revolt.

RABAT (Reuters) – The chief suspect in last week’s attack in Morocco’s top tourist destination disguised himself as a guitar-carrying hippie when he entered a cafe and planted two bombs, killing 16 people, an official source said on Friday.

“The man was identified as Adel al-Othmani. He walked into the cafe wearing a wig and carrying a guitar and the two bags where he hid the explosive devices,” the source told Reuters.

RABAT (Reuters) – Morocco arrested three people over a bomb attack on a cafe in the tourist city of Marrakesh last week that killed 16 people, and said the chief suspect showed “loyalty” to al Qaeda.

The three suspects were all Moroccans, the official news agency quoted the Interior Ministry as saying. Most of the bomb victims were foreign holidaymakers, including eight French people.

RABAT (Reuters) – The government of Morocco’s King Mohammed faces a showdown on May 1 with protesters pressing the Arab world’s longest-serving dynasty for reform, despite attempts to appease the opposition.

Security forces — already wary the protests could build into an Egypt-style revolt — are likely to be on high alert after a bomb at a cafe in the tourist city of Marrakesh killed 15 people, many of them foreign tourists.

RABAT (Reuters) – A bomb attack on a busy tourist cafe in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh on Thursday killed 15 people, most of them foreigners, and struck right at the heart of the North African country’s economy.

The bombing bore the hallmarks of Islamist militants who have been trying unsuccessfully to stage a big attack in Morocco since 2003, when they killed more than 45 people in simultaneous suicide attacks in the commercial capital, Casablanca.

RABAT (Reuters) – Morocco’s government has agreed to raise public sector salaries and the minimum wage as growing demands for reform put pressure on the Arab world’s longest-serving dynasty.

State television channel RTM said on Tuesday Prime Minister Abbas Al Fassi had signed a draft memo with unions over the wage deal.

CASABLANCA, Morocco (Reuters) – Thousands took to the streets of Morocco on Sunday in peaceful demonstrations to demand sweeping reforms and an end to political detention, the third day of mass protests since they began in February.

Desperate to avoid the turmoil that toppled leaders in Tunisia and Egypt, authorities have already announced some reforms to placate demands that King Mohammed cede more powers and limit the monarchy’s extensive business influence.