Moroccan king pardons over 1,000 protesters

King Mohammed VI of Morocco, 🇲🇦 pardoned more than a thousand people who were under arrest for taking part in protests ⚔ in the troubled northern Rif region, the justice ministry announced.

The monarch pardoned a total of 1,178 detainees, including a number who had joined demonstrations in the northern port 🚢 city of al-Hoceima and surrounding area, the ministry said in a statement, issued shortly before King Mohammed made a televised 📺 speech to mark 18 years on the throne.

Seventy-two police officers were wounded by stones and 11 protesters were injured by tear gas 💣 used to break up the rally, the official news agency MAP reported, citing authorities in al-Hoceima.

UCJ, UNILORIN.