Algerians rally to demand interim president step down

Hundreds of Algerians on Thursday protested against newly appointed president Abdelkader Bensalah and demanded he resign, a day after he set the country's presidential polls for July.

The elections will be the first to be held in two decades without former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who was forced to resign this month after weeks of nationwide protests against his 20-year rule.

Bensalah was appointed by parliament on Tuesday to lead the North African country in a three-month transitional period.

The opposition regards Bensalah as an ally of Bouteflika.

On Thuirsday the protesters rallied at the Grand Post Square in the centre of the capital Algiers, where they dismissed Bensalah's decision to conduct the presidential vote on 4 July. "Any decision issued by Bensalah is illegal," a protester said. Since Bouteflika's resignation on 2 April, thousands of Algerians have taken to the country's streets, opposing his succession by Bensalah and demanding an overhaul of Algeria's political system.    (dpa)