In a statement to pan-Arabic Al Jazeera TV channel, Minister of Justice Mr. Abdellatif Ouahbi said that “villages in the area of Taroudant are located parallel to Al Haouz and are on the other side of the Atlas mountains so access to those mountainous areas are very difficult but God’s Will, the Moroccan army has intervened and has restored road trafficking to let ambulances and first aid reach the devastated areas”.
In response to Al Jazeera TV questions, Minister Ouahbi stated that “public authorities are still working hard to help bring in water, food and tents to the earthquake victims, after firm instructions issued by His Majesty King Mohammed VI to accelerate assistance to damaged villages. Now, we have about 300 victims in the area of Taroudant and the toll may rise to 1000; some villages have entirely been wiped out from the map”; adding that “the state institutions are working day in day out to bring victims corpses and also the injured to the hospital in Taroudant while private clinics are also mobilized to receive the injured and offer them first aids medical treatment free of charge”.
Answering a question about nature of challenges facing intervention in those remote areas, Minister Ouahbi said that “transporting injured persons and bringing in equipment to help stuck victims are the major challenges facing rescue teams”; highlighting that “what is important is that there actually is a great popular solidarity and many people have flooded to blood donation centers to give blood”.
Minister Ouahbi has reaffirmed that “international assistance is very good but what does interest me is that great popular solidarity among Moroccans and this makes me very happy… On this same occasion, I’d like to thank the Moroccan armed forces (FAR), the Royal Gendarmerie, The National Security Civil Protection and Auxiliary Forces and civil society NGOs for their great endeavor and dedication to help save lives and bring assistance to the earthquake victims”.