RABAT (Reuters) - Morocco’s king appointed five new ministers on Monday, a government statement said, after several top officials were dismissed in October for failing to improve the economic situation in a region shaken by protests.

King Mohammed VI of Morocco reviews a guard of honour at the National palace during his state visit to Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, November 19, 2016. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri

King Mohammed VI named ministers for education, planning, housing, health and for African relations, the statement said.

In October the king had dismissed ministers and top officials after an economic agency found “imbalances” in implementing a development plan.

Protests erupted in the Rif region around the northern city of Al-Hoceima in 2016, triggered by the death of a fishmonger whose produce was confiscated by police.

The man’s crushing to death in a garbage truck during a confrontation with police became a symbol of corruption and official abuse.

Protests, also fueled by economic underdevelopment, continued there this year.

Political protests are rare in Morocco, where the palace remains the ultimate power.

The protests, the largest in Morocco since the days of the 2011 “Arab Spring”, were directed at the government and the king’s entourage rather than the monarch himself.

Police confiscated fish they said the fishmonger had bought illegally and then dumped it in a garbage truck. Desperate to recover his stock, Fikri jumped inside and was killed by a rubbish crusher.

In July the king pardoned dozens of people arrested in the protests and blamed local officials for failing to quickly implement development projects which stoked public anger.