LONDON: Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters marched in London on Saturday, with police making 12 arrests for alleged offenses including inciting racial hatred and assaulting emergency workers.
The demonstrators gathered at Park Lane in the center of the British capital holding banners demanding a “ceasefire now” while chanting “free Palestine.”
“People are very, very concerned that there’s going to be a disaster piled upon an already existing disaster in Rafah,” John Rees, from Stop the War Coalition, told AFP.
“What I hope is that we can avert this tragedy being made permanent.”
London’s Metropolitan Police said 12 people had been arrested, including two for displaying anti-Semitic placards.
“A man was seen in the crowd with an anti-Semitic placard. When officers went in to arrest him they were assaulted, resulting in six arrests,” the force posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Two other people were arrested for refusing to remove face coverings when required to do so, while another person was arrested on suspicion of support for a proscribed organization in relation to a placard.
Pro-Palestinian marches have become a regular feature on Saturdays in London ever since Israel mounted its military response to Hamas’ unprecedented attack on October 7.
The attack resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Militants also took about 250 people hostage, 130 of whom are still in Gaza, including 30 who are presumed dead, according to Israeli figures.
Israel’s retaliatory assault on Gaza has killed at least 28,858 people, mostly women and children, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Thousands join pro-Palestinian march in London, 12 arrests
https://arab.news/2c9wm
Thousands join pro-Palestinian march in London, 12 arrests
- The demonstrators gathered at Park Lane in the center of the British capital holding banners demanding a “ceasefire now” while chanting “free Palestine”
- London’s Metropolitan Police said 12 people had been arrested, including two for displaying anti-Semitic placards
9 African migrants died in freezing temperatures near Morocco-Algeria border
- Every year, thousands of migrants seeking better living conditions attempt to crossing illegal from North Africa to Europe
CASABLANCA, Morocco: Exposure to freezing temperatures near Morocco’s border with Algeria killed nine African migrants, a tragedy that rights groups in the North African country called deeply concerning and a violation of the right to freedom of movement.
The bodies of seven men and two women were found in Ras Asfour, a remote mountainous Moroccan area known for its plunging temperatures in winter, the Moroccan Association of Human Rights said Saturday in a statement.
“They died from extreme cold, which their exhausted bodies could not withstand,” it said.
One of the migrants was from Guinea, the group said. The rest were from various countries throughout sub-Saharan Africa, though specific information about their identities remains unknown. Morocco’s Interior Ministry did not immediately respond to questions about the individuals who died.
Every year, thousands of migrants seeking better living conditions attempt to crossing illegal from North Africa to Europe, including from Morocco to Spain. Some aim for Ceuta and Melilla – two tiny Spanish enclaves in North Africa – by scaling border fences or swimming. Others attempt to reach Spain’s Canary Islands, taking a longer route through the Atlantic Ocean.
The North African nation’s security forces regularly report blocking such attempts.
Throughout Europe and Africa, North Africa is known as a transit point for migrants en route to Europe’s southern border.
Security agreements with the European Union have strengthen authorities’ ability to deter migration in North Africa. Many who originally intended to migrate to Europe spend months or years working informally — doing construction, agriculture or domestic work. Others rely on aid while waiting for opportunities to cross the Mediterranean Sea or Atlantic Ocean.
The Moroccan Association of Human Rights statement said six of the bodies were buried last week and two were kept at the request of their relatives. “We will make sure that this case is followed up on,” it said.
The Moroccan Organization of Human Rights — a different association — earlier this week called for the humanization of borders, the decriminalization of illegal migration and residence, and the creation of a mechanism to track missing migrants to prevent tragedies like the one in Ras Asfour.
