Middle East Monitor
Flag of Morocco [Kristin Harvey/Flickr]
On Monday, the Moroccan army will begin selecting 15.000 recruits, the first batch since the resumption to compulsory military service.
Eleven years after its suspension, the military service law came into force again in Morocco last January.
The general command of the armed forces said in a statement on Saturday: “The process of selecting and integrating the conscripts batch of 2019-2020 within the framework of military service will start on Monday and end on 31 of this month, to recruit 15.000 beneficiaries”, reported the official Moroccan news agency.
The army leadership called on all the summoned Moroccans, who received the order, to head to the military unit referred to in the summons letter on the specified date.
The army command explained that the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces had mobilised 17 military units deployed throughout the Kingdom. The recruits will be received and transported on military buses to training centres.
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The army leadership added that a specialised committee would decide on the files of those invited to join the military service. Moreover, the lists of recruits for the year will be limited to 15.000 invitees, who will serve for a year, starting from the first of next September.
The military service law requires citizens who have reached the age of 19 to join compulsory military service and limits its duration to 12 months.
The law specified monthly salaries for the beneficiaries of compulsory recruitment between 1050 and 2100 dirhams (about 110 and 220 dollars).
The government spokesman, Mustafa Al-Khalafi, indicated in statements late last year that “the military service will provide an opportunity for young Moroccans to develop their expertise and skills, especially in the professional and technical fields, which will enable them to appropriate the conditions of integration in public life, and deepen their values system, particularly in what concerns homeland’s defence and unity.”
Morocco started employing “compulsory conscription” in 1966, which used to last 18 months, exempting only those with physical disabilities, family responsibilities, or university students.
In 2007, however, King Mohammed VI decided to suspend the system of compulsory recruitment without giving reasons.
