The Algerian riot police used water cannons to disperse protesters who on Saturday marked the first anniversary of a protest movement seeking a review 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, Agence France-Presse (AFP) told reporters.
“No to military power, civilian, non-military state” was written on a banner, referring to the authority exercised by the Army Command since independence from France in 1962.
But as protesters tried to march on the presidential palace, anti-riot police used water cannons to shoot them back at the main post office – the starting point for the demonstration – journalists said.
The protest was dispersed by the police late in the afternoon and a few people were arrested shortly before they were released, the journalists added.
Mass protests first erupted on February 22 last year, in response to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika announcing his intention to run for a fifth term – despite being weakened by a 2013 stroke.
Less than six weeks later, he resigned after losing the support of the then army chief ahead of huge weekly demonstrations.
Despite hordes – diplomats said “millions” – then turned around after Bouteflika’s fall to demand a review of the entire system, the military maintained a political stranglehold in the following months.
Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Saturday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck. Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Saturday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck.
On Friday, the 53rd straight weekly demonstration took place, with citizens flooding the streets of Algiers and many other cities across the country.
Although the unparalleled movement has thinned in numbers since December, protesters still show up in droves every week.
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, a former prime minister under Bouteflika who was elected in December, had recently claimed that “things are starting to calm down” on the streets and that “Hirak got almost everything they wanted”.
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