Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 82, has rarely been seen in public since suffering a stroke six years ago MOHAMED MESSARA/EPAWhen Algerians were told last month that their president was going to run for a fifth term in office, many joked that it was a surprise to hear he was still alive. In power for two decades, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 82, has rarely been seen in public since suffering a stroke six years ago. Some thought he was dead. Yet this weekend Bouteflika is still “ruling”. The general’s statement, immediately backed by the ruling FLN party, followed weeks of protests over the effort to keep an invisible…

Source: The North Africa Journal March 31, 2019 00:16 UTC