Over 180 wounded in protests against Algeria's Bouteflika
State media says 183 people were wounded and one person died after tens of thousands of protesters marched in streets on Friday against 82-year-old President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's plans to seek fifth term in office.
Algerians shout slogans and raise signs and national flags as they protest outside the city hall in the northern coastal city of Oran, about 410 km west of the capital Algiers, on March 1, 2019.
A total of 183 people were wounded during protests across Algeria on Friday against President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's bid for election to a fifth term, the state news agency APS said on Saturday, citing the health ministry.
One person died of a heart attack, officials said earlier.
Tens of thousands of protesters called on the ailing, 82-year-old Bouteflika to abandon plans to seek re-election in an April presidential vote –– Algeria's biggest anti-government rallies since the Arab Spring eight years ago.
The protests were mostly peaceful but scuffles between police and protesters broke out late on Friday near the presidential place in the capital Algiers.
Algiers was quiet on Saturday.
Resentment
Large-scale demonstrations - rarely seen in Algeria with its ubiquitous security services - against Bouteflika's re-election move began a week ago, but Friday saw the biggest turnout yet.
Bouteflika suffered a stroke in 2013 and has been seen in public only a few times since. His re-election bid stoked resentment among Algerians who believe he is not fit to run the major oil- and gas-producing country.
Bouteflika, who turned 82 on Saturday, has not directly addressed the protests.
Medical checks
Authorities said last week he would travel to Geneva for unspecified medical checks. Swiss television said on Friday Bouteflika was at Geneva University Hospital.
There was no official confirmation that Bouteflika was in the Swiss city.
Many Algerians for years avoided politics in public, fearing trouble from the security services or disillusioned as the country has been run by the same group of veterans since the 1954-1962 independence war with France.
Bouteflika has ruled since 1999. Algerians have long tolerated a political system with little space for dissent as a price to pay for peace and stability.
A weak and divided opposition faces high hurdles in mounting an electoral challenge. Since the long-ruling FLN party again picked Bouteflika as its presidential candidate, several parties, trade unions and business groups have endorsed him.
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is seen in Algiers, Algeria April 9, 2018.
Bouteflika sacks campaign manager
Also on Saturday, Bouteflika sacked his campaign manager, state media reported.
Former premier Abdelmalek Sellal was replaced as campaign manager by Abdelghani Zaalene, the transport minister, APS news agency said, citing Bouteflika's campaign team, without giving a reason.
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