President Abdelaziz Bouteflika headed to Geneva for medical treatment

The Algerian government plane that brought President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to Geneva for medical treatment last month left Algerian airspace and headed north early on Sunday, flight radar applications showed.

The ailing 82-year-old Bouteflika has rarely been seen in public since suffering a stroke in 2013, and his bid to extend his 20-year rule has prompted tens of thousands of Algerians to join the biggest protests in Algiers in 28 years.

The Gulfstream 4SP had not been tracked leaving Algeria since Algerian authorities announced in February that he would be travelling to the Swiss city for unspecified medical checks.

(With inputs from agencies.)