Thousands hit Algiers streets for protest movement anniversary
Algerian riot police used water cannons to disperse demonstrators who on Saturday marked the first anniversary of a protest movement that seeks an overhaul of the political system.
Several thousand people gathered in the capital Algiers shouting “the people want the fall of the regime” and “we have come to get rid of you”, referring to the country’s rulers.
When demonstrators tried to march towards the presidential palace, anti-riot police used water cannons to push them back towards the main post office — the starting point for the rally.
The protest was dispersed by police in the late afternoon and a few people were briefly detained before being released, the reporters added.
Mass protests first erupted on February 22 2019, in response to president Abdelaziz Bouteflika announcing he intended a run for a fifth term — despite being debilitated by a 2013 stroke.
Less than six weeks later, he stepped down after losing the support of the then-army chief in the face of enormous weekly demonstrations. Despite hordes — diplomats said “millions ”— then turning out after Bouteflika’s fall to demand an overhaul of the entire system, the military maintained a political stranglehold in the months that followed. Police had deployed heavily around the post office in central Algiers on Saturday, as people responded to calls on social media to celebrate the first anniversary of the “Hirak” protest movement. Friday had seen the 53rd straight weekly demonstration, with citizens flooding the streets of Algiers and numerous other cities across the country.