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Inspired by events in neighboring Egypt, thousands defy ban on protests, and 400 are detained.
Algerian protesters chant slogans during a demonstration in Algiers, Algeria, Saturday. Thousands poured into the Algerian capital for a pro-democracy rally.
Ap photo
ALGIERS, Algeria — Heavily outnumbered by riot police, thousands of Algerians defied government warnings and dodged barricades to rally in their capital Saturday, demanding democratic reforms a day after mass protests toppled Egypt’s autocratic ruler.
Protesters chanting “No to the police state!” and brandishing signs that read “Give us back our Algeria” clashed with baton-wielding police in helmets and visors. Organizers said more than 400 people were briefly detained, but aside from some jostling between police and protesters no violence was reported.
The opposition said demonstrators’ bold defiance of a long-standing ban on public protests in Algiers marked a turning point.
“This demonstration is a success because it’s been 10 years that people haven’t been able to march in Algiers and there’s a sort of psychological barrier,” said Ali Rachedi, the former head of the Front of Socialist Forces party. “The fear is gone.”
Organizers said as many as 26,000 riot police were deployed to try to quash Saturday’s rally, but that an estimated 10,000 people succeeded in jostling, squeezing and jumping over the barricades and gathering in the city center before the protest was broken up. Officials put turnout at the rally at 1,500.