UPDATE – Algerians hold anti-regime demos for 10th Friday in row

<p>ADDS FRESH DETAIL</p> <p>By Hassan Jebril</p> <p>ALGIERS (AA) – Hundreds demonstrated in Algiers on Friday — and in other cities across Algeria — to demand the departure of all government officials associated with the regime of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.</p> <p>The 82-year-old Bouteflika resigned early this month after several weeks of popular protest against his 20-year rule.</p> <p>Parliament Speaker Abdelkader Bensalah is now serving as interim president for a 90-day transitional period — overseen by the army — during which presidential elections will be held.</p> <p>Demonstrators, however, have continued to call for the removal of all Bouteflika-era officials, including Bensalah.</p> <p>They also demand the prosecution of Said Bouteflika, the former president’s influential brother, who is described by detractors as the “gang leader”.</p> <p>On Friday, more than 1,000 protesters converged on the capital’s Al-Barid Square — for the tenth week in a row — where they shouted anti-regime slogans and demanded accountability for Bouteflika-era abuses.</p> <p>Security has been dramatically stepped up in the capital, especially in central Algiers near the presidential palace.</p> <p><br></p> <p>*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat</p>