Students attend a protest in Algiers, capital of Algeria, on Feb. 26, 2019. A wide-scale protest was triggered by university students on Tuesday in major cities of Algeria to demand change and express rejection to the decision of incumbent President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to seek a fifth term in office. (Xinhua)
ALGIERS, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- A wide-scale protest was triggered by university students on Tuesday in major cities of Algeria to demand change and express rejection to the decision of incumbent President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to seek a fifth term in office.
In the capital Algiers, students held rallies and sit-ins, under wide presence of anti-riot units and police officials.
Hundreds of students at the University of Algiers, in downtown of the city, tried to march outside the campus, but anti-riot troops deterred them and forced them to stay inside, Xinhua reporter noticed.
The students also rallied at the entrance of the campus, waving national flags and chanting anti-government slogans.
The rally lasted for a couple of hours before the students managed to go outside, as they marched in separate groups divided by cordons of anti-riot units.
Meanwhile, thousands of other students also held marches in major universities of the North African country, local media reported.
The demonstration is part of an unprecedented popular protest movement which started last Friday in reaction to the decision of incumbent president to seek a fifth term.
This protest movement was triggered via social media platforms by activists.
On Monday, lawyers held a sit-in in the Court of Algiers as they chanted slogans calling for freedom of rally and expression.
Another minor rally was held in Algiers on Sunday, but was soon contained and dispersed by anti-riot forces.
Other massive marches are scheduled in the upcoming days, activists said.
Algerian Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia on Monday called on citizens to be vigilant so that they would not be "used" by anonymous parties to sow chaos in the country.
He noted that the only way to make change is ballot, saying "the presidential election will take place in less than two months and it will be an opportunity for our people to choose freely their president."
Bouteflika is currently in Geneva receiving medical examinations, according to a presidential statement.
Bouteflika, 81, suffered a stroke in 2013, and was re-elected in 2014 for a fourth term until 2019.
On Feb. 10, the ailing president announced that he would run for the forthcoming presidential election due on April 18, while opposition parties urge him to leave the scene for new generation to lead the country.
