Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Algeria’s ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigned on Tuesday, nearly six weeks after the start of unprecedented protests sparked by his bid for a fifth term. His resignation, announced by state television, came shortly after the army demanded the start of impeachment against him. Here is a …
Read More »Ailing Bouteflika: Algeria’s longest serving president
Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Abdelaziz Bouteflika is Algeria’s longest-serving president and a veteran of the independence struggle who has held on to power for some 20 years despite ill health. The 82-year-old survived the Arab Spring uprisings that toppled other leaders in the region. But after weeks of demonstrations …
Read More »Algeria’s Bouteflika to resign ‘before mandate ends’
Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Algeria’s ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika will resign before his mandate expires on April 28, his office said Monday, after a succession of loyalists deserted him in the face of massive protests. The 82-year-old, who has rarely been seen in public since a 2013 stroke, …
Read More »Loyalist calls for president to quit fail to end Algeria protests
Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Thousands of Algerians gathered for new anti-government protests in the capital on Friday despite moves by a succession of veteran loyalists to abandon ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Demonstrations were expected to take place across the North African country, where protests broke out more than a month …
Read More »Algeria army chief calls for Bouteflika to be declared unfit to rule
Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Algeria’s army chief called Tuesday for President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to be declared unfit to govern, following weeks of mass protests calling on the ailing leader to step down. General Ahmed Gaid Salah said in a televised speech the “way out of crisis … is in Article …
Read More »Bouteflika ‘returns’ to strike-hit Algeria from Geneva
Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Thousands of students and public transport workers went on strike in Algeria Sunday against Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s bid for a fifth term, as the presidency confirmed the ailing leader had returned from Switzerland. The plane carrying Bouteflika from Geneva — where he has been in hospital for …
Read More »Algeria police brace for further anti-Bouteflika demos
Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Police deployed Wednesday in the Algerian capital with water cannons, a day after thousands of students demonstrated against ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s re-election bid. Although the city remained calm, security forces were bracing for further protests on Friday as demonstrators have vowed to take to the streets until the 82-year-old …
Read More »In face of protests, Algeria leader vows to quit early if re-elected
Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Algeria’s President Abdelaziz Bouteflika pledged Sunday not to serve a full term if re-elected at April polls after huge protests against the bid to extend his 20 years in power. The ailing leader, who suffered a stroke in 2013, vowed in a letter read out …
Read More »Algeria’s Bouteflika confirms he will run for 5th term
Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika declared he will seek a fifth term in April elections in a message published by state media Sunday, after he was endorsed by his party and the ruling coalition. Bouteflika uses a wheelchair and has rarely been seen in public since …
Read More »Hundreds injured in months of Algeria football violence
Algiers, Algeria | AFP | More than 300 people were injured in football-related violence during the first four months of Algeria’s football season, with hundreds arrested, police said on Sunday. Algeria has for years seen nearly weekly violence at football stadiums between supporters, while police and players have also been …
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