The Moroccan Royal Armed Forces are prepared with helicopters to reach remote areas.
Rabat – Morocco’ Royal Armed Forces (FAR) are mobilizing equipment and efforts across Morocco to assist populations who are exposed to extreme weather and cold spells during winter.
Supreme Commander of FAR, King Mohammed VI ordered the mobilization of ground, air, and medical components of the military to work hand-in-hand with local authorities.
The campaign that Morocco organizes annually during winter targets remote populations who are isolated due to heavy snowfalls by providing them with items such as food and blankets, communications systems, and medical assistance.
FAR’s campaign this year follows early November snowfalls, with harsher weather to come.
As part of its means to assist affected populations, FAR mobilized helicopters as soon as the winter period started as a suitable asset to reach remote villages.
Helicopters are at the disposal of the provinces of Tangier-Tetouan, Ouarzazate, Errachidia, Marrakech, and Ben Guerir.
Helicopters play a key role in FAR’s mission, making it possible to conduct location and evacuation operations when necessary, for example when women go into labor or when the elderly need medical support.
FAR also put a number of proximity units on alert in the provinces of Tangier-Larache, Tetouan-Chefchaouen, Oujda, Errachidia, Marrakech, Ben Guerir, and Ouarzazate for responsiveness and efficiency.
A monitoring committee operating under the Ministry of Health identified, as of November 2019, 1,753 neighborhoods threatened with isolation in the event of extreme winter weather.
In 2007, the winter season caused a tragedy in the village of Anfgou, between the provinces of Khenifra and Midelt, claiming the lives of over 30 children due to a lack of means for heating.
The Anfgou incident led the Ministry of Interior the same year to launch a plan to assist populations affected by cold waves by providing them with commodities, heating, and livestock feed, as well as telecommunications systems.
