Thousands of protesters reject Algerian interim president
The protests, which entered the seventh week, managed to force Abdelaziz Bouteflika to resign as president. Abdelkader Bensalah, a key ally of Bouteflika has been named the interim president for 90 days.
Police officers use a water cannon to disperse people protesting, after parliament appointed upper house chairman Abdelkader Bensalah as interim president following the resignation of Abdelaziz Bouteflika, in Algiers, Algeria. April 9, 2019.
Police fired water cannons and pepper spray at student demonstrators gathered in the capital for a seventh week on Tuesday, as Algeria's parliament named an interim leader to replace former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who resigned last week.
The protest movement that drove Bouteflika out after two decades in power had demanded the ouster of the country's entire political hierarchy. This includes the newly-named interim president, Abdelkader Bensalah, who is a key ally of Bouteflika and the leader of parliament's upper chamber.
Tuesday's student protest was timed to coincide with the parliamentary decision, and police moved within an hour of the announcement, dousing the demonstrators with tear gas and water cannons.
Police also used batons to break up the crowd of thousands on a central avenue.
As called for by the Algerian Constitution, Bensalah was named as an interim leader for a maximum of 90 days until a new election can be organised.
He can't run for the post himself.
Members of the opposition abstained from Tuesday's vote.
Algeria's powerful army chief, General Ahmed Gaed Salah, was due to speak later on Tuesday.
Gaed Salah had pulled his support for Bouteflika last week, tipping the balance.
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