The humanitarian emergency in Morocco seen by the Red Cross

The International Red Cross has alerted the international community to Morocco’s aid needs (tents, food and water, etc.). "It won’t be a matter of a week or two [...] We’re looking at months, even years of response," the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies warned in a statement. Despite this urgent call, Morocco has not, for the time being, called for international assistance. The reasons? "We were in contact on Saturday with the Moroccan authorities who were carrying out an assessment of the situation, because the southern regions are very remote and far from urban centers," explains Christophe Lecourtier on RTL on Sunday, September 10. The French ambassador to Morocco has also said that the Moroccan authorities have sent helicopters to get a clearer picture of the situation.

"They assured that they would come back quite quickly as soon as they had carried out this assessment, to mobilize foreign aid," he assures. Same tone with Philippe Besson, president of the international emergency firefighters. "Apart from the Qatari team and the Jordanian team, we need the agreement of the Moroccan government to go to the affected areas. My colleague on the spot told me that the Moroccan government has deployed a lot of resources, but many access points are impossible because these areas are inaccessible. Bridges need to be rebuilt to access the site. The overall vision of the situation is not clear," he adds. The French ambassador to Morocco continues: "Today there are considerable means mobilized by the Moroccan armed forces and civil protection, foreign aid must be fully coordinated otherwise it would worsen the situation."