Opposition groups are planning to hold massive pro-democracy protests in the Algerian capital, Algiers, despite a government ban on rallies in the capital.
The marches that are planned for Saturday have been organized by the National Coordination for Change and Democracy.
Inspired by the recent revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, Algeria’s opposition group Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD) is calling for change.
The Algerian government has beefed up security in the capital ahead of the planned rallies, AFP reported.
Algerians have been protesting against unemployment, high food costs and corruption over the past few months, demanding the immediate end of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s regime.
According to the RCD leader Said Saadi, the authorities had ringed the capital in a bid to prevent people from joining the Saturday march from outside.
“Trains have been stopped and other public transport will be as well,” he further explained.
Saadi pointed out that 10,000 police officers were being drafted into the city in an attempt to reinforce the 20,000 who succeeded in blocking the last protest on January 22, when five people were killed and more than 800 hurt in clashes.
Meanwhile, an unemployed man and father of six died in eastern Algeria on Friday after setting himself on fire on January 17, his family said.
His death brings to four the number of Algerians who have died from self immolation since January.
Altogether, more than a dozen Algerians have set themselves on fire so far this year, having apparently been inspired by a similar act in neighboring Tunisia that catalyzed the downfall of the country’s authoritarian regime.
Source: Press TV