Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Algiers for a 12th successive Friday to demand the removal of Algeria’s ruling elite. The protesters also took to the streets in other cities, including Oran, Tizi Ouzou and Constantine, chanting anti-government slogans.
They descended on the streets following the first weekly prayers of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when people refrain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk.
The demonstrators are seeking the departure of senior figures, including politicians and businessmen from former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s regime, who have governed Algeria since independence from France in 1962. The protest movement, which launched in February, led to Bouteflika´s fall on April 2 under pressure from protesters and the army.
“They all go,” a banner held up by protesters draped in national flags gathered in central Algiers read, reported France 24.
“We will not give up. The battle will continue,” said a 37-year-old school teacher, marching with his wife and two children.
The demonstrators have vowed to keep up the pressure, particularly on army chief Ahmed Gaid Salah, a former Bouteflika loyalist and key powerbroker.
“Algeria is a republic, not a barracks,” protesters shouted. “The army is our army and Gaid has betrayed us!”
The people of Algeria are calling out for the resignation of acting head of state Abdelkader Bensalah and Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui, both close aides of Bouteflika. Bensalah, the head of the upper house of parliament, replaced Bouteflika for 90 days to oversee a July 4 presidential election.
In the past few days, the army launched anti-graft probes against people suspected of misuse of power and public funds.
Last week, a military judge placed Said Bouteflika, the younger brother of the former President, and two former intelligence chiefs in custody over charges of harming the army’s authority and plotting against state authority.
Five renowned businessmen, including the country’s richest man, Issad Rebrab, were also detained last month for alleged involvement in corruption scandals.
