Rabat – Morocco’s Ministry of Interior has given instructions for measures to be put in place to strengthen security after the terrorist attack against a National Guard patrol in Tunisia on July 8.
The ministry called on its forces to increase security across the country, based on the exchange of security information between Morocco and its European partners, reported Moroccan newspaper Al Ahdath Al Maghribia on Thursday.
The strategy aims at reinforcing internal security and to fight against any attack that would undermine the stability of the country.
Quoted by the same source, the Ministry of the Interior said: “The Moroccan security services have stepped up coordination and exchange of information with the European and Maghreb security services on possible terrorist threats.”
The security cooperation also includes the Tunisian security services.
According to Al Ahdath Al Maghribia, the measures came as a security plan hastily put in place by the Moroccan authorities. The plan aims at protecting and preventing any harm to national security or physical safety of foreigners and tourists, in addition to diplomats and employees working in consulates and embassies.
The security measures will cover hotels, tourist and entertainment resorts, and foreign chambers of commerce offices.
The ministry also gave instructions to security forces to carry out careful inspection of passengers’ identities and baggage at airports, especially the Mohammed V Airport in Casablanca.
At the national level, checkpoints were set up at city entrances to check passengers’ identities and inspect suspicious buses and vehicles.
Security cells, directly linked to the Ministry of the Interior, have been established in each city. These cells are composed of members of the National Security, the Royal Gendarmerie, auxiliary forces, the Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DST) and the General Directorate for Territorial Surveillance (DGST). They were put on full alert in case of threats or suspicious movements that may affect public security, Al Ahdath Al Maghribia added.
For decades, Morocco has collaborated with partner countries, especially Europe and the US, in combating terrorism at the national and international levels.
On June 12, French and Belgian authorities announced a joint anti-terrorism unit with Morocco to share their intelligence experience in the fight against terrorism.
In December 2017, the US Department of State said that Morocco, along with the US, was making leading global efforts in the fight against terrorism and its ideologies. It also noted Morocco’s security achievements in countering terrorism in 2016.
In response to terrorist threats, Morocco’s proactive, collaborative measures to prevent potential terrorist attacks have proven their effectiveness.
Last June, Director of Counter-Terrorism Bureau (BCIJ) Abdelehak Khiame told the French magazine Valeurs Actuelles that Morocco’s anti-terrorist model is successful thanks to an “anticipatory philosophy,” which deals with terrorism at its very roots.
In the last 10 years, the Moroccan security services have been waging a pre-emptive campaign which has enabled them to dismantle tens of sleeper and active cells linked to terrorist networks, especially the so-called Islamic State (ISIS). Since the beginning of July, BCIJ has dismantled two separate terrorist cells, totaling eleven pro-ISIS suspects in different regions in Morocco.
