Assa-Zag authorities flatly deny using real bullets against looters

Reacting to reports by some electronic sites alleging that a man died of wounds caused by bullets, the province said, in a release, that the man's corpse was found Monday in the city.

The victim had been wounded in the heart by a sharp object, says the release which adds that an investigation is being conducted on circumstances of this death.

The source also explains that following a divergence over land property with the Ait Brahim, some members of Aït Oussi tribe observed again on Monday a sit-in in Tizmi, adding that order-enforcement forces intervened to peacefully the demo.

"Some hooded persons armed with knives erected barricades in downtown Assa, stopped traffic and looted and burnt buildings and public and private property", the release goes, pointing out that "these persons started throwing stones against order-enforcement forces, wounding some of them".

Security forces were forced to interfere to protect the security of citizens and property and restore order in accordance with the law, the release concludes.