Moroccan Immigrants Accused of Spreading Coronavirus in Their Country

Moroccan authorities wearing protective masks check people at a roadblock in a street in the capital Rabat | AFP
Moroccan authorities wearing protective masks check people at a roadblock in a street in the capital Rabat | AFP
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Moroccan Immigrants Accused of Spreading Coronavirus in Their Country

Moroccan authorities wearing protective masks check people at a roadblock in a street in the capital Rabat | AFP
Moroccan authorities wearing protective masks check people at a roadblock in a street in the capital Rabat | AFP

Moroccan immigrants in Europe are accused of spreading the coronavirus in their homeland after the Ministry of Health recorded the first case for a citizen coming back from in Italy early in March.

Following that, a number of cases were confirmed among Moroccan immigrants from Spain and France who arrived in the country after the spread of the virus abroad. The epidemiological situation in the country later became limited to local cases after authorities shut the borders with different countries of the world.

Moroccan authorities have responded strictly to the campaign against the Moroccan immigrants living abroad. They arrested a 46-year-old Moroccan on March 30, who broadcasted a video on social media insulting Moroccan immigrants and inciting discrimination and hatred against them.

The woman accused Moroccan immigrants of spreading the virus in their country, adding that the dead should be cremated.

The Moroccan security services described such statements as "despicable and insulting for the Moroccan citizens residing abroad", and stated that the video included explicit defamation and incitement to hatred against them, due to the developments of COVID-19 at the global level.

Moroccans widely condemned the video and lauded the authorities’ response to it.

Opinions varied between Moroccans arguing that immigrants should return to the country after the outbreak of the virus in Europe, and others who demanded that they stay in their countries of residence to prevent the virus spread in their homeland.

Weeks before the outbreak of the virus, a number of bullying cases against foreigners having Asian features were recorded in Morocco.

In Tangier for instance, a taxi driver recounted how many drivers before him refused to take a Japanese university professor who was putting a face mask for fear of contracting the virus. He said that after much hesitation, he felt sorry for the passenger and took her to her destination.



Six Local Officials Detained Over Iraq Deadly Mall Fire

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani visits a five-story shopping center after a massive overnight fire killed multiple people, in Al-Kut, Wasit province, Iraq, July 17, 2025. Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office/Handout via REUTERS
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani visits a five-story shopping center after a massive overnight fire killed multiple people, in Al-Kut, Wasit province, Iraq, July 17, 2025. Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office/Handout via REUTERS
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Six Local Officials Detained Over Iraq Deadly Mall Fire

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani visits a five-story shopping center after a massive overnight fire killed multiple people, in Al-Kut, Wasit province, Iraq, July 17, 2025. Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office/Handout via REUTERS
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani visits a five-story shopping center after a massive overnight fire killed multiple people, in Al-Kut, Wasit province, Iraq, July 17, 2025. Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office/Handout via REUTERS

Iraq has detained six local officials and suspended other public employees following a fire that killed 61 people at a shopping mall earlier this week, authorities said Saturday.

The blaze broke out late Wednesday in a newly opened shopping mall in the eastern city of Kut.

After an initial investigation, the interior ministry said "there was clear negligence among several officials and employees" in Kut, located around 160 kilometers southeast of Baghdad.

It added that three local officials, including the head of civil defense in Kut, had been detained, and 17 employees suspended from work until further notice.

The Commission of Integrity, an anti-graft body, said later that security forces had detained three more officials "over the violations that led to the fire" at the Corniche Hypermarket Mall, including the head of the violations department at Kut's municipality.

Officials say their investigation is ongoing, and the number of detainees may change.

The cause of the mall fire was not immediately known, but one survivor told AFP an air conditioner had exploded on the second floor before the five-story building was rapidly engulfed in flames.

Several people told AFP they lost family members -- and in some cases whole families -- who had gone to shop and dine at the mall days after it opened.