Tens of thousands protested across Algeria on Friday in the biggest rallies yet against ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s bid for a fifth term in office, a day after the 82-year-old leader warned against the risk of “chaos”.
A rally in the capital Algiers was slowed to a near-crawl by the huge numbers taking part, swelled by women marking International Women’s Day and chanting “No fifth term — hey, Bouteflika!”
While the rallies were mostly calm, police used tear gas in several areas of the city, including to block the road to the presidential palace, news agencies reported. Later on Friday, state TV said security forces had detained 195 protesters, citing offences such as looting as grounds for the arrests. The police fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse protesters who tried to force their way through a police cordon that was blocking access to a road leading towards the presidency, an AFP journalist said.
Anti-Bouteflika protests were also staged in several other cities, including easterly Oran and westerly Constantine, according to Algeria’s TSA news website.
The demonstrations marked the third consecutive Friday on which Algerians have taken to the streets in a bid to press the 82-year-old president to step down. Waving Algeria‘s green-white-and-red flags, men and women converged on the city’s landmark Grand Post Office square after weekly prayers.
The largest display of discontent in the North African country since the 2011 Arab Spring was sparked by the wheelchair-bound leader’s announcement last month he would stand for a fifth term in office in a presidential election scheduled for April 18.
