Security situation in Morocco raises no concern, Minister

The security situation in Morocco is "not worrying" stated, on Wednesday, Moroccan Interior Minister, Al Mostafa Sahel, noting that the country is immunized against organized and dangerous crimes.

Murders, assault and battery, as well as aggressions and robbery constitute only 6pc of crimes in the country, explained Sahel during the House of Representatives (lower parliament chamber) question-time, noting that the majority of crimes are committed by individuals for reasons that vary in each case.

The Interior Minister blamed the rise of crimes on demographic growth and the expansion of urban areas, underlining that the firmness with which security services dealt with these crimes incited citizens to file complaints and submit their cases to authorities.

He said 262,000 cases were submitted to security services in 2002, with a success rate of 92.5pc, against 265,000 cases in 2003 with a success rate of 90.5pc.

According to Sahel, the development pace in Morocco requires important financial resources and a larger staff to enable the reinforcement of security measures in the whole country. The Interior Ministry, he said, works to secure the necessary means to guarantee security in the whole territory, notably through the creation of new police stations in different zones. He added that Urban Security Groups will also be created to reinforce security in the country, and will include law enforcements agents to prevent crime.

On the recent incidents that took place in the city of Fez, whose security situation has deteriorated in the latest months in some neighborhoods because of aggressions, Sahel explained that the hunt of authors of these aggressions ended up in assaults targeting police officers and security elements.

He said, however, that these events were "exaggerated" in such a way that they not reflect the reality.