At least two people have died in Morocco after police opened fire to stop protesters from storming a police station in Lqliaa, near Agadir, according to state media. These are the first fatalities since youth-led demonstrations erupted across the country on Saturday.

The protests, led mainly by young people under the banner GenZ 212—named after Morocco’s international dialing code—have been fueled by frustration over the government’s plan to build stadiums for the 2030 FIFA World Cup while public services, including healthcare, face chronic underfunding. Protesters have chanted slogans such as, “Stadiums are here, but where are the hospitals?”

One demonstrator in Oujda, near the Algerian border, described local hospitals as “like a jail,” claiming that patients often had to bribe staff for medical care. The protests have generally taken place at night, with police asserting that they fired in “legitimate self-defense” to repel an attack in Lqliaa.

GenZ 212 organizers have condemned the violence and stressed that the movement is largely leaderless, organizing mainly through social media channels.

Official figures indicate Morocco’s overall unemployment rate is 12.8%, while youth unemployment has reached 35.8%, with 19% among graduates. Demonstrations have spread to Rabat, Casablanca, Tangier, and Marrakesh, with some incidents involving arson, including the burning of a police station in Marrakesh.

Authorities say 409 people have been detained, while more than 260 police officers and 20 protesters have been injured. Damage includes 40 police vehicles and 20 private cars set ablaze.

The uprising mirrors youth-led protests in Nepal, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Madagascar this summer, some of which prompted government resignations or reshuffles.

Morocco’s governing coalition has expressed a willingness to engage in dialogue with the youth through formal channels, praising what it described as a measured response by security forces