Algerian students protest against Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s 5th term

Thousands of Algerian students marched on March 5 against President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's decision to seek a fifth term. The students in Algeria would call for a general strike if he doesn't meet their demands this week.

Hundreds of students gathered in central Algiers and in three cities in southern Algeria, holding signs in English that read "Algeria is not a kingdom."

Responding to Algeria's biggest protest movement in years, Bouteflika released a statement Sunday that if he's re-elected, he would hold a referendum on a new constitution and call an early election in which he wouldn't run.

The 82-year-old Algerian leader hasn't been seen since the protests began. He was in Switzerland last week for what has been described as medical tests. "We don't want him to stay even an extra second. He should leave now," one protestor said.

"Hey Bouteflika, there won't be a fifth term," the students chanted in central Algiers, an AFP reporter said.

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