Algeria army orders police to bar protesters from capital

Algeria's military has ordered police to block protesters from outside Algiers from entering the capital, the army chief said Wednesday, after months of mass rallies.

"I have instructed the national gendarmerie to deal with these actions with firmness," said General Ahmed Gaid Salah, the country's strongman since the April resignation of longtime president Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

Protesters massed in the Algerian capital on Tuesday to demand the cancellation of a controversial presidential election planned for Dec.12.

Interim leader Abdelkader Bensalah announced the poll on Monday in a bid to resolve the political deadlock gripping the country since the April resignation of Bouteflika.

But activists have demanded political reforms and the removal of Bouteflika loyalists including powerful army chief Ahmed Gaid Salah before any vote takes place.

Algerians demonstrators carrying national flags chant slogans as they take part in a rally in the streets of the capital Algiers. AFP

Led by students, protesters on Tuesday shouted slogans against "the gang" and demanded: "Hey Gaid Salah, forget the elections!"

The general, who has become a key powerbroker since Bouteflika's departure, has led the push for polls by the end of the year in keeping with the constitution.

But Hamid, a 57-year-old public servant who took part in Tuesday's protest, insisted that would not happen.

"We will cancel the Dec.12 vote just like we cancelled the July 4 election," he said.

Agence France-Presse