Algerians defy police cordon in first protest since election call

Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched in the center of Algiers on Friday in the first significant test of the months-old protest movement since the government called an election for December, a Reuters journalist said.

They were marching despite several high profile arrests of opposition activists over the past week and order by powerful army chief Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaed Salah on Wednesday for police to seize vehicles bringing protesters to the capital.

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