An Angus woman has relived the drama of being caught up in rioting on the streets of Marrakech on a weekend break to Morocco.
Just a day after arriving in the country, Lee Leith and her husband James found themselves at the centre of a violent protest in a busy tourist area part of the wave of protests that swept the country in what had been described as peaceful opposition to the ruling regime.
The Kirriemuir couple said the reality could not have been more different as hordes of young men rampaged through the city, smashing shops in front of frightened tourists.
“We had never been to Morocco before and arrived in Marrakech last Saturday,” said Lee, a sheriff court officer in Forfar. “On Sunday we were sitting in the Cafe de France and we couldn’t really see to begin with what was happening, but they started pulling down the shutters and we were told to get up from there.”
A young local boy also approached them and, although he did not speak English, they soon realised his message was to get away from the area as quickly as possible.
The marauding crowd she put at around 400 then became involved in a confrontation with the tourist police.
“All tourists were ushered upstairs, we didn’t know what was going on, people were running about shouting. There was no information, the hotel wouldn’t tell us anything,” she said. “I was terrified, it really was scary.
“We were a couple of minutes ahead of the crowd and they were just attacking restaurants and shops and swarming up the road.”
From a place of safety, the tourists saw the drama continue to unfold.
“The police had set up roadblocks and we just watched the group go up the road, smashing whatever they could. We then went back to our hotel and were not allowed out initially, but when we did come back down, everything was smashed up, even the little kiosk businesses.
“James got an internet connection on his phone and we saw there had also been protests in Rabat.
“That evening when we went out there was palpable menace, you could sense it. It was just destruction and terrifying at the time.”
The traumatic events threatened to derail their short break, but normality returned to the area and they were able to enjoy the rest of their stay.
“If it had continued the next day we would have gone to the embassy or the consulate, but there was nothing after that,” she added.Thousands took to the streets of Rabat, Casablanca, Tangier and Marrakech on Sunday in protest against King Mohamed VI’s regime.