Dozens of police hurt as tens of thousands protest in Algeria
Dozens of police officers were hurt in clashes between protesters and police in the Algerian capital Friday, as tens of thousands rallied against a fifth term for ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
According to a police toll, 56 police and seven demonstrators were hurt and 45 arrests made in Algiers, AFP reported.
AFP saw a number of people wounded after being hit by batons, tear gas grenades and stones thrown by police back at demonstrators who had initially hurled them at officers.
A car was seen on fire as violence broke out on the margins of a demonstration which security sources said drew “several tens of thousands of people” to the streets.
Riot police fired tear gas to disperse a group of around 200 young people, around 1.5 kilometers (less than a mile) from the presidential palace.
Other sporadic clashes were reported by security sources in central Algiers, but most people appeared to have left the protest sites by 8:00 p.m. (1900 GMT).
Crowds of men and women of all ages had defied a ban to march along one of the city’s main avenues, waving Algerian flags as they rallied against 81-year-old Bouteflika’s decision to stand in the April 18 election.
Riot police also used tear gas to prevent protesters from penetrating key central locations in Algiers, blocking demonstrators from reaching the Government Palace which houses the prime minister’s offices.
Earlier on Friday a photographer and journalist from local media were briefly detained by police and removed from the protest area before being released, an AFP journalist reported.
Shop windows were broken, while a bank branch was set alight.
Other rallies were held in Algeria’s second and third cities, Oran and Constantine, as well as numerous other towns and cities, security sources said.
In Oran, one of the protesters told AFP the demonstration was larger than one held a week ago.
The scale of the protests has surprised many in Algeria and represents the biggest challenge in years to the authorities.
Bouteflika, who has been in power since 1999, has used a wheelchair since suffering a stroke in 2013 and is rarely seen in public.
Despite the demonstrations, Bouteflika’s campaign director said the president will meet today’s deadline to formally submit his candidacy.