Hundreds of Algerians rally to mark some of the first Hirak protests

Algiers, Feb 16 (AFP/APP): Hundreds of Algerians rallied Tuesday to mark some of the first Hirak protests, two years into the mass movement which swept former strongman Abdelaziz Bouteflika from power.

Defying coronavirus restrictions and a ban on protests, “hundreds of demonstrators gathered in the centre” of Kherrata, seen as the movement’s birthplace, news website Radio M reported. Protestors brandished Algerian and Berber flags and shouted Hirak slogans against the military and President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, according to images published by Algerian news outlets and reports by social media users.

Some demonstrators had already arrived in Kherrata from several other regions on Monday evening for the rally. The town, some 200 kilometres (125 miles) east of the capital Algiers, was the site of a thousands-strong protest on February 16, 2019, against Bouteflika’s bid for a fifth term.

The following Friday, seen as the official start of the movement, saw mass demonstrations in Algiers. That triggered an unprecedented months-long movement to demand a sweeping overhaul of the ruling system in place since Algeria’s independence from France in 1962. The rallies only came to a halt in March last year as the coronavirus pandemic reached the North African country.