Hundreds of thousands of Algerian protesters took to the streets of Algiers on Friday for the sixth consecutive week to demand the stepping down of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
A million people staged a protest, which marked the biggest demonstration since the unrest erupted six weeks ago. The protest came a few days after the army called for Bouteflika to step down.
The demonstrators carried signs and chanted slogans calling for freedom, and some of them called on the entire political elite to leave their positions. Hundreds of security forces were deployed, and helicopters flew overhead to observe the demonstrations.
The army chief of staff, Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaid Salah, on Tuesday asked the constitutional council to rule whether the ailing 82-year-old president is fit for office.
The move piled pressure on Bouteflika, who has failed to placate Algerians by reversing a decision to seek a fifth term.
Bouteflika previously announced that he would not consent to the 18 April presidential elections, and that it will be postponed.
Furthermore, Bouteflika has been in charge for 20 years, and has been suffering from a stroke since 2013, and has rarely been seen in public since then.
The 82-year-old president ruled for two decades. The first two terms he was glorified due to his efforts to bring back safety and stability to the country, following the bloody Algerian civil war in 2002, and his role in ending the Emergency Law.
