Police, Demonstrators Clash in Algeria
By VOA
Demonstrators and police have clashed in the Algerian capital, after opposition supporters tried to hold a protest in defiance of a government ban.
Police wielding batons scuffled with several hundred chanting demonstrators who were trying to march to a government building Saturday in Algiers.
Opposition leaders say 42 people were injured and taken to a hospital. The state-run APS news agency says seven officers were injured, two seriously.
Rising discontent over high unemployment and food prices have sparked several protests in Algeria this month, similar to those in neighboring Tunisia that led to last week’s ouster of Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
Some protesters in Algiers waved the Tunisian flag along with the Algerian flag Saturday and called for democratic reforms.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
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