Morocco arrests 330 in crackdown on Islamists

RABAT, May 26 (Reuters) Morocco arrested 330 activists from the main Islamic fundamentalist opposition in several cities following reports that the unauthorised group was plotting an uprising this year, group officials said today.

Al-Adl was al-Ihsane (Justice and Charity) officials told Reuters one of its leaders, Mohamed Abdelli, and 181 other members were arrested in Oujda, 541 km east of the capital Rabat, and in the small nearby town of Beni Modhar late yesterday.

''Police stormed the two places where the members were meeting and arrested them before they emptied the offices of everything they found inside, including computers and books,'' an official from the group said.

Another official said: ''A total of 148 brothers (Al-Adl members) were arrested in Rabat and three other cities on Wednesday and the previous two days.'' ''All those arrested were released later but the mass arrests were unprecedented since we launched an 'Open Doors' campaign weeks ago in several cities,'' said the official. Neither official wanted to be identified.

He said the authorities sealed off the group's office in Oujda and posted policemen to prevent access to it.

''It is the first time the authorities took such decision to seal off an office. In the past, they deployed police discreetly to watch without intervening,'' he added.

Al-Adl, which shies away from violence, is tolerated but not authorised as a legal party.

Al-Adl spokesman Fathallah Arslane told Reuters the crackdown was spurred by what he called biased reports and comments in some local anti-Islamist newspapers about the group's activities.

Newspapers and commentators have said the leadership of Al-Adl wa al-Ihsane, which is the biggest opposition group with an estimated 250,000 members, told their followers to prepare for a Qawma (Intifada) this year to establish a purist Muslim fundamentalist state.

''We are organising activities like the 'Open Doors' campaign so that more people will know us for what we are, rather than what some media say about us,'' Arslane said, dismissing the reports of a Qawma.

Another of Al-Adl's leading figure told Reuters the authorities had been eyeing the ''Open Doors'' campaign closely and moved to stop it when they saw it was arousing interest.

''The authorities were alarmed by the large number of people who showed an interest in listening to us and joining us. The authorities do not want that ahead of next year's parliamentary elections,'' he added.

Government officials were not immediately available to comment but analysts said the government pursues a containment strategy to trim Al-Adl's strength without confronting it.

REUTERS SHR PC1831