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Algerians Rally to End a Weakened Bouteflika's 20-Year Rule

  • Protesters answer calls for Friday rallies to be largest yet
  • The ailing 82-year-old president is hospitalized in Geneva
Algerian police block a tunnel during protests against the president on March 6.

Algerian police block a tunnel during protests against the president on March 6.

Photographer: Toufik Doudou/AP Photo

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Algerian protesters answered calls for the biggest rallies yet against ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, whose 20-year grip over Africa’s largest energy producer is being chipped away by defections as his health declines at a hospital in Geneva.

The rallies on Friday brought tens of thousands to the streets of Algiers. The circle of dissent against the president has widened since he announced his intention to run for a fifth term in April elections, despite making very few public appearances after he suffered a stroke in 2013.