Thousands of protesters gathered in central Algiers Friday, piling pressure on President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to resign days after the country's powerful military called for his removal.
The army chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Gaed Salah, on Tuesday asked the constitutional council to rule whether the ailing 82-year-old president is fit for office.
Bouteflika, facing the biggest crisis of his 20-year-old rule, has failed to placate Algerians by reversing a decision to seek a fifth term.
"Streets pressure will continue until the system goes," said student Mohammad Djemai, 25.
Protesters have ambitious demands. They want to overthrow an entire political system and replace it with a new generation of leaders capable of modernizing the oil-dependent state and giving hope to a population impatient for a better life.
Reuters
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