Algeria: Opposition meets, teachers protest, tension simmers

Published March 13, 2019

High school students protest in Algiers, Algeria, Tuesday, March 12, 2019. Algerian students protested against President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's decision to delay presidential elections indefinitely. (AP Photo/Toufik Doudou)

High school students face riot police officers as they protest in Algiers, Algeria, Tuesday, March 12, 2019. Algerian students protested against President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's decision to delay presidential elections indefinitely. (AP Photo/Toufik Doudou)

Algerian teachers are demonstrating against their longtime president as political uncertainty grips this gas-rich North African country.

Teachers gathered Wednesday outside the central post office in the capital, Algiers, to protest President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's decision to delay next month's election. Algerian media reported teachers' protests in other cities too.

Opposition parties also held a joint meeting in Algiers to plot next steps.

An unprecedented revolt forced Bouteflika to abandon plans to seek a fifth term. But he also canceled the election without setting a new date.

Protesters demanded Wednesday that Bouteflika step down now, or at the latest when his current term ends next month. Algerians have barely seen their president since he suffered a stroke in 2013, and protesters are also angry about corruption and secrecy in Algeria's power structure.

https://www.foxnews.com/world/algeria-opposition-meets-teachers-protest-tension-simmers