Thousands of Algerians gathered on Wednesday to pay last respects to Gen. Ahmed Gaid Salah, chief of the armed forces, who breathed his last on Monday after a heart attack. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune declared three days of mourning, reported Reuters.
Salah’s funeral was worthy of a national leader. His body was interred in Martyrs’ Square in Al-Alia cemetery, where former presidents and other major Algerian figures are laid to rest. His coffin draped in the national flag and covered in flowers was displayed for four hours in the People’s Palace in the center of the capital Algiers before being carried in a procession to his final resting place.
A large number of people gathered at the gates of the palace, along the procession’s route and at the cemetery to pay their respects to the army chief.
Salah had become the country’s de facto strongman after longtime President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was forced to step down in April following mass public protests. The protests first erupted against Bouteflika’s plan to seek another term in office. But, unfortunately, now after eight months of Bouteflika’s exit, Algeria is still gripped by a political crisis.
Gaid Salah had pushed for an election to replace Bouteflika, but Algerians continued to demand a complete political overhaul. They want a total dismantling of the military-dominated system that has ruled Algeria since independence in 1962. They continued to protest every Friday in the capital and other cities against any elections under the current government.
The protestors rejected all the five candidates who ran in the election as they claimed that the candidates were associated with the former president Bouteflika, whom they ousted in April after two decades in office.
Despite people’s objection, the elections were conducted and Tebboune was declared as the winner with 58% percent of the vote.
