ALGIERS, March 22 (Reuters) - Hundreds of Algerians took to the streets of the capital on Friday to demand President Abdelaziz Bouteflika quit immediately, as mass protests against the veteran leader entered a fourth week.

Protesters gathered in the city centre defying rain, carrying Algerian flags and pamphlets. "Rain will not stop us from continuing our pressure," said 23-year old Ahmed Khoudja.

Bouteflika, who has ruled for 20 years, bowed to the protesters last week by reversing plans to stand for a fifth term. But he has stopped short of stepping down and said he would stay in office until a new constitution is adopted, effectively extending his present term. (Reporting by Hamid Ould Ahmed Writing by Ulf Laessing Editing by Peter Graff) </s> ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Thousands of Algerians are demonstrating in the major cities of the oil-rich North African country, demanding the resignation of ailing, 82-year-old President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

The number of protesters was much smaller than predicted by organizers, however, as rain appeared to dampen attendance on the fifth straight Friday since nationwide anti-Bouteflika protests began on Feb. 22.

Families joined professionals and students in the central squares of Algiers, the capital, holding signs reading “Get Out, Bouteflika” and “No Mandate Extension.”

Bouteflika last week indefinitely postponed April’s national election and overhauled the government. While he abandoned his bid for a fifth term in office, his simultaneous postponement of the election has critics worried that he intends to hold on to power indefinitely. He has been president since 1999.

Bouteflika, badly weakened by a 2013 stroke, has remained an enigma, with very few public appearances. The president returned earlier this month after two weeks in a Geneva hospital, but the exact state of his health is unclear.

Workers at Sonatrach, the national oil company whose executives are close to Bouteflika, held a symbolic sit-in Thursday in solidarity with the protests that span all sections of society.

New Prime Minister Nourredine Bedoui has promised to create a new cabinet within days to respond to the demands of Algeria’s demonstrators. Yet, Bedoui is still struggling to form a government, with many potential candidates seeking to keep their distance from the unpopular president. </s> Algerians set to continue protest for Bouteflika to quit

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Organizers in Algeria are predicting huge demonstrations across the country's major cities as protesters step up their demand for the resignation of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

It's the fifth straight Friday since nationwide anti-Bouteflika protests began Feb. 22 that Algerians have taken to the streets.

Workers of Sonatrach, the national oil company whose executives are close to Bouteflika, held a symbolic sit-in Thursday in solidarity with the protests that span all sections of society including the country's youth and doctors.

New Prime Minister Nourredine Bedoui is still struggling to form a government with many potential candidates sought to keep their distance from the unpopular president. </s> ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Algerian protesters and opposition leaders are cautiously welcoming President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's planned departure, but say it doesn't go far enough.

Former Prime Minister Ali Benflis and a moderate Islamist movement are among leading voices criticizing the move because it would leave the country's secretive, distrusted power structure in place.

A standoff is also intensifying between Bouteflika's entourage and that of the powerful army chief, who turned against the president amid mass protests over Bouteflika's 20-year rule.

Bouteflika bowed to mounting pressure Monday and announced he will step down by the end of his term April 28, according to his office. Protesters fear it will pave the way for a hand-picked successor instead of a truly democratic change of power.

Students are holding protests in Algiers on Tuesday, and demonstrators are already planning for new nationwide protests Friday. </s> ALGIERS (Reuters) - Thousands of Algerians rallied again on Friday to demand the immediate resignation of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who is fighting for his political survival in the face of relentless protests and the desertion of long-time allies.

Defying heavy rain, the protesters brandished Algerian flags and pamphlets as they gathered in the same spot in the capital where a wave of demonstrations first erupted a month ago against Bouteflika’s 20-year rule.

“Rain will not prevent us from continuing pressure,” said student Ahmed Khoudja, 23, in a square in central Algiers.

The protests were expected to swell further after Friday prayers, as has happened on the four previous Fridays during this wave of demonstrations that kicked off on Feb 22.

“We stay here until the whole system goes,” said Mahmoud Timar, a 37-year old teacher.

Bouteflika, 82, rarely seen in public since suffering a stroke five years ago, bowed to the protesters last week by reversing plans to stand for a fifth term and promising an inclusive politics in Algeria, a major oil and gas producer.

But he stopped short of quitting and said he would stay on until a new constitution is adopted, effectively extending his present term. The move further enraged Algerians, and many of Bouteflika’s allies, from ruling party members to trade union leaders to tycoons, turned against him.

“We are close to victory. The system is divided,” said restaurant owner Rachid Zemmir, 55, at Friday’s rally.

In the most significant development in a month of demonstrations, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaed Salah on Wednesday threw the army’s weight behind the protesters, saying they had expressed “noble aims”.

Soldiers have stayed in their barracks through the unrest but the army has traditionally deeply influenced politics.

The generals have intervened in the past at momentous times, including cancelling an election which Islamists were poised to win in 1992, triggering a civil war in which an estimated 200,000 people were killed.

The ruling National Liberation Front party, known by its French acronym FLN, has also sided with the protesters.

In the past, Bouteflika and his inner circle of fellow veterans of the 1954-1962 war of independence against France, FLN officials and the military skillfully managed crises.

When the “Arab Spring” revolts toppled autocrats in neighboring countries, Bouteflika used oil revenues to secure loyalty — offering better salaries for state workers, housing and low-interest loans.

But the price of crude oil has dropped over the years and the young are desperate for jobs, an end to corruption and nepotism and a say in how the North African country is run.

Algerians who credited Bouteflika with negotiating an end to the civil war in the 1990s were eager for stability, even though they shared many of the frustrations which triggered revolts elsewhere.

While Bouteflika was adept at manipulating the opposition in the past, he now faces Algerians of all social classes and ages staging the biggest protests in decades.

Even if Bouteflika quits, it is not clear if the swelling protest movement can bring down the deep state - a secretive network of ruling party leaders, business tycoons and army generals long regarded as invincible.

These figures, who long managed politics in behind-the-scenes negotiations, may be happy to see Bouteflika go but are likely to resist any major political changes, as they have done in the past. </s> Algerian protesters gather during a mass demonstration against ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in the capital Algiers on March 29, 2019 Protest-hit Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on Sunday named a new government headed by recently appointed Noureddine Bedoui, a statement from the presidency said. State television reported that armed forces chief Ahmed Gaid Salah, who has called for Bouteflika to step down, remained as deputy defence minister.

Veteran politician Ramtane Lamamra, who was appointed deputy prime minister and foreign minister on March 11, was not named in the new administration.

Ailing Bouteflika, who has rarely being seen in public since a 2013 stroke, has come under mounting pressure to quit power since his decision to seek a fifth term sparked huge demonstrations.

Bouteflika said earlier this month he would pull out of the race and postponed April elections, in moves that angered Algerians who see it as a ploy to extend his two decades in power.

Faced with persistent public anger, a succession of veteran Bouteflika loyalists have deserted the president in recent days.

On Tuesday, chief of staff Gaid Salah, who was appointed in 2004, called for him to step down or be declared medically unfit.

The chief of staff cited Article 102 of the constitution, under which a president can be removed if found unfit to rule.

Long a faithful Bouteflika supporter, Gaid Salah said on television it was "imperative" to find a way out of the crisis "which responds to the legitimate demands" of the people in line with the constitution.

Despite the calls, huge crowds thronged the streets of Algeria's capital on Friday for a sixth successive week, saying the moves by his key allies to abandon Bouteflika were not enough. </s> ALGIERS, Algeria — Organizers in Algeria are predicting huge demonstrations across the country’s major cities as protesters step up their demand for the resignation of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

It’s the fifth straight Friday since nationwide anti-Bouteflika protests began Feb. 22 that Algerians have taken to the streets.

Workers of Sonatrach, the national oil company whose executives are close to Bouteflika, held a symbolic sit-in Thursday in solidarity with the protests that span all sections of society including the country’s youth and doctors.

New Prime Minister Nourredine Bedoui is still struggling to form a government with many potential candidates sought to keep their distance from the unpopular president.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Military veterans shout slogans during a protest to demand the resignation of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and changes to the political system, in Algiers, Algeria, on Thursday (Reuters photo)

ALGIERS — Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of central Algiers again on Thursday to demand the resignation of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and changes to the political system after the powerful army called for the veteran leader to be removed.

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.

State radio said on Thursday that the council has not yet held any meeting so far to decide on Bouteflika's fate.

Salah's call received backing from the ruling FLN Party and the main trade union, signalling that Bouteflika's time was all but up after 20 years in power.

But leaders of the protest movement that has staged five weeks of peaceful demonstrations reject the army's transition plan and demand the overthrow of the entire ruling elite.

Hundreds of Algerians rallied again on Thursday to criticise not just Bouteflika but also the political system, which for decades has been built around veterans of the 1954-1962 war of independence against France, military officers and business tycoons.

"Thieves, you have destroyed the country," they chanted.

"Our battle will continue until we get rid of the system," said architect Belaid Hakimi, 36,

The General Union of Algerian Workers (UGTA), long a staunch supporter of the president, has also said it supported the army call for Bouteflika to step down.

In an unusual development suggesting further disarray in Bouteflika's inner circle, the owner of a TV station close to the government, Ali Fodil, was detained by the authorities for several hours on Thursday, his Echorouk TV channel reported.

He was later released on the order of the general prosecutor. Oficials had no immediate comment on the matter.

On Wednesday evening, Echorouk broadcast a programme critical of Bouteflika's influential younger brother Said. Another TV station, Ennahar, said Fodil had been detained by intelligence personnel.

Any ruling by the constitutional council on Bouteflika's future would have to be ratified by a two-thirds majority in the two houses of Parliament.

Under the constitution, the chairman of Parliament's upper house, Abdelkader Bensalah, would serve as caretaker president for at least 45 days after Bouteflika's departure.

But even if Bouteflika quits, there is no clear long-term successor.

And even if both sides dig in, no Algerian wants to risk returning to the dark days of the 1990s, when the army's cancellation of elections that Islamists were on the verge of winning triggered a civil war that killed 200,000 people. </s> Hundreds of thousands of Algerians rallied on Friday to demand the immediate resignation of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who is fighting for his political survival in the face of relentless protests and the desertion of long-time allies.

In heavy rain, protesters brandished Algerian flags and pamphlets. Police trucks were deployed but there were no reports of clashes between security forces and crowds that packed downtown Algiers.

"We stay here until the whole system goes," said Mahmoud Timar, a 37-year old teacher.

Bouteflika, 82 and rarely seen in public since suffering a stroke five years ago, bowed to the protesters last week by reversing plans to stand in elections for a fifth term and promising reforms to make the political system more inclusive.

But he stopped short of quitting and said he would stay on until a new constitution is adopted, effectively extending his present term. The move further enraged Algerians, and many of Bouteflika's allies turned against him.

"We are close to victory. The system is divided," said restaurant owner Rachid Zemmir, 55, at Friday's rally.

Bouteflika has a track record of consolidating power by outmaneuvering anyone seen as a threat. First elected president in 1999, he wrested power from the secretive military-based establishment known as "le pouvoir" [the power].

In 2015, Bouteflika sacked powerful intelligence chief Mohamed Mediene, dubbed "Algeria's God." Last year he dismissed about a dozen top military officers.

In the most significant development in a month of demonstrations, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaed Salah threw the army's weight behind the protesters on Wednesday, saying they had expressed "noble aims."

That was a major setback for Bouteflika, who bolstered his position over the years with the help of the army and oligarchs who funded his election campaigns.

"The people and the army are brothers," protesters chanted on Friday.

Soldiers have stayed in their barracks through the unrest. The generals have intervened in the past at momentous times, including canceling an election which Islamists were poised to win in 1992, triggering a civil war in which an estimated 200,000 people were killed.

Some members of the ruling National Liberation Front party, known by its French acronym FLN, have also sided with the protesters. But Algerians want to dismantle the entire moribund political system.

In the past, Bouteflika and his inner circle of fellow veterans of the 1954-1962 war to end French colonial rule, FLN officials and the military skillfully managed crises.

Algerians complain that Bouteflika, who joined the struggle against France in the 1950s at the age of 19, is out of touch and living in the past.

Algeria is a major oil and gas producer, and when the "Arab Spring" revolts toppled autocrats in neighboring countries, Bouteflika used oil revenues to secure loyalty.

Algerians with dark memories of the civil war in the 1990s set aside the same frustrations that triggered revolts elsewhere, giving Bouteflika breathing space.

But the price of crude oil has dropped over the years and the young are desperate for jobs, and an end to nepotism.

Bouteflika said in a speech in 2012 that it was time for his generation to hand over to new leaders. Many Algerians believe his brother Said is now effectively running the show.

Even if Bouteflika quits, it is not clear if the swelling protest movement can take on the secretive network of ruling party leaders, business tycoons and army generals long regarded as omnipotent.

These figures may be happy to see Bouteflika go but are likely to resist any major changes, as they have done before.
Hundreds of thousands of Algerians again rally, this week in heavy rain and cold weather, against President Abdelaziz Bouteflika demanding his immediate resignation. Bouteflika is fighting for his political survival in the face of unrelenting protests and the desertion of long-time allies.