(UTV|COLOMBO) – Algerian police used water cannon on Tuesday to disperse crowds demonstrating against the appointment of a new interim president.
Abdelkader Bensalah, the speaker of parliament’s upper house, succeeds long-term President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who resigned last week.
Peaceful demonstrations have been taking place for weeks, but many protesters want more radical change.
Mr Bensalah has pledged to organise free elections within 90 days.
“We – citizens, the political class and state institutions – must work to ensure the conditions, all conditions, are right for a transparent and regular presidential poll,” he said during a televised address on Tuesday.
As soon as the appointment of Mr Bensalah was announced, protesters took to the streets of the capital, Algiers, demanding “Bensalah go”.
The 77-year-old is seen as being very close to the ailing former president, who had been in power for 20 years.
Courtesy: Foreign Media
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