Algeria Army Steps Up Demand For Bouteflika to Go Without Delay
Algeria Army Steps Up Demand For Bouteflika to Go Without Delay
(Bloomberg) -- Algeria’s army stepped up demands for the removal of embattled President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, saying there was no time for delay after weeks of protests.
The military dismissed as bogus Bouteflika’s promise to resign before his term ends on April 28 and said in a statement it was time to invoke constitutional articles that would allow for the ailing 82-year-old leader to be declared unfit for office.
Once a close ally of Bouteflika, army chief of staff Ahmed Gaid Salah first broached the possibility of impeachment last week. The statement said the army’s move had been met with foot-dragging and deceit.
“We see no room for any more procrastination,” it quoted Salah as saying.
The statement comes a day after Bouteflika promised to step down before his fourth term officially expires.
--With assistance from Samer Khalil Al-Atrush.
To contact the reporters on this story: Souhail Karam in Rabat at skaram10@bloomberg.net;Salah Slimani in Cairo at sslimani2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at lnoueihed@bloomberg.net
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