Former Algerian president dies aged 84

The former president of Algeria, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, has died at 84, the country’s presidency said on Friday, after a long illness.

Bouteflika, a veteran of Algeria’s war for independence, had governed the North African country for two decades before his resignation in April 2019 after street demonstrations rejecting his plan to seek a fifth term.

He played a key role in Algeria’s war of independence in the 1950s and 60s.

Then in 1999, as Algeria emerged from a brutal civil war that killed almost 200,000 people, he became president at the urging of the military.

The late president had rarely been seen in public since a stroke in 2013, which affected his speech and mobility.