Ex-Algerian President Bouteflika Dies

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika attends the opening session of the first Gas Exporting Countries Forum summit in Doha November 15, 2011. REUTERS/Mohammed Dabbous/File Photo
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika attends the opening session of the first Gas Exporting Countries Forum summit in Doha November 15, 2011. REUTERS/Mohammed Dabbous/File Photo
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Ex-Algerian President Bouteflika Dies

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika attends the opening session of the first Gas Exporting Countries Forum summit in Doha November 15, 2011. REUTERS/Mohammed Dabbous/File Photo
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika attends the opening session of the first Gas Exporting Countries Forum summit in Doha November 15, 2011. REUTERS/Mohammed Dabbous/File Photo

Former Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who was ousted amid pro-democracy protests in 2019 after two decades in power, has died at age 84, state television announced Friday.

The report on ENTV, citing a statement from the office of current President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, did not provide the cause of death or information about funeral arrangements.

Bouteflika had suffered a stroke in 2013 that badly weakened him.

Concerns about his state of health, kept secret from the Algerian public, helped feed public frustration with his 20-year, corruption-tarnished rule.

Mass public protests by the Hirak movement led to his departure.

The protests erupted after he announced plans to run for a fifth term in 2019, and it was the then-army chief who sealed Bouteflika's fate by siding with the demonstrators. Bouteflika had no choice but to step down.



Arab Parliament Speaker Condemns Israeli Escalation in Gaza, Calls for Immediate Action

Arab Parliament Speaker Condemns Israeli Escalation in Gaza, Calls for Immediate Action
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Arab Parliament Speaker Condemns Israeli Escalation in Gaza, Calls for Immediate Action

Arab Parliament Speaker Condemns Israeli Escalation in Gaza, Calls for Immediate Action

Arab Parliament Speaker Mohammed Al Yamahi strongly condemned Israel’s dangerous and bloody escalation against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the Saudi Press Agency said on Sunday.

In a statement, Al Yamahi described the systematic starvation and deadly siege in Gaza, leaving vulnerable populations to face death, as a full-fledged crime occurring before a silent world. He voiced calls on the international community to shirk its moral, legal, and humanitarian responsibilities towards a people facing annihilation through mass starvation, a scenario deemed unbearable to human conscience.

Al Yamahi also condemned the Israeli occupation forces’ bombing of places of worship in Gaza, describing it as a war crime and holding the occupying forces fully responsible for the attack.

He urged the international community to take immediate and effective action to halt the aggression, open urgent and sustainable humanitarian aid corridors, and hold occupation leaders accountable as war criminals.