Algeria detains 195 people during protests: State TV

Algerian security forces detained 195 people during mass protests on Friday, state television said, citing offenses such as looting as grounds for the arrests.

Tens of thousands packed the center of the capital Algiers to capacity on Friday to challenge President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s 20-year-old rule.

Bouteflika, who uses a wheelchair and has rarely been seen in public since suffering a stroke in 2013, announced on February 10 that he will seek re-election in the April 18 vote.