Several people were hurt in clashes between protesters and police in the Algerian capital Friday, as tens of thousands rallied against a fifth term for ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. AFP saw about a dozen people wounded after being hit by batons, tear gas grenades and stones thrown by police back at demonstrators who had intially hurled them at officers.
A car was seen on fire as violence broke out on the margins of a demonstration which security sources said drew "several tens of thousands of people" to the streets. Riot police fired tear gas to disperse a group of around 200 young people, around 1.5 kilometres (less than a mile) from the presidential palace.
Other sporadic clashes were reported by security sources in central Algiers, but most people appeared to have left the protest sites by 8:00 pm (1900 GMT). Crowds of men and women of all ages had defied a ban to march along one of the city's main avenues, waving Algerian flags as they rallied against 81-year-old Bouteflika's decision to stand in the April 18 election.