Updated

Officials say Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has left the French military hospital where he has been treated for nearly a month and transferred to another facility.

Tuesday's brief statement by the defense ministry health service said Bouteflika "left Val-de-Grace hospital today to go to another establishment to continue his recovery." The statement didn't identify that facility or even say whether it is in France, and officials were unavailable for comment.

The 78-year-old Bouteflika suffered a mini-stroke in Algeria on April 27, and he was rushed to Val-de-Grace hospital in Paris.

On Monday the head of Algeria's main Islamist political party called for the ailing president to appear on television to dispel rumors over his health.

Earlier, an editor of two Algerian newspapers said their publication was blocked by the government after he rejected an order to remove a story that claimed Bouteflika was in a coma.