Algerias President Bouteflika resigns

Algeria’s President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has resigned after weeks of mass protests, the state news agency APS reports.

Mr Bouteflika, who had been in power for 20 years, had already dropped plans to seek a fifth term as opposition to his rule grew.

The powerful Algerian army had called for the 82-year-old to be declared incapable of carrying out his duties.

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He suffered a stroke six years ago and has rarely appeared in public since.

Leaders of the protests had rejected Mr Bouteflika’s offer to go by the end of his current term – 28 April – as not enough.

• Who could succeed Algeria’s ailing president?

The demonstrations have also led to calls for the whole political system, in which the military plays a significant role, to be overhauled.

The governing National Liberation Front (FLN), which postponed elections, had vowed to organise a national conference on reforms.

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