Algerian President Hospitalised in France
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Algeria’s elderly President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has been admitted to hospital in France, French police and government sources cited by news agencies said.
French officials told the AP news agency that Bouteflika was admitted to the Clinique d'Alembert clinic in the city of Grenoble on Thursday. Bouteflika has rarely been seen in public since his re-election in April 2014.
No reason has been given for his hospitalisation or regarding his current condition, but the 77-year-old has been plagued by ill health following a "mini-stroke" in April last year.
The Algerian presidency did not confirm the report and declined to comment on Bouteflika's health or whereabouts.
Algeria's Echorouk TV, seen as close to the government, cited a presidential source as saying Bouteflika was at home and his health normal.
Bouteflika joined the National Liberation Front (FLN) in 1956 as the party struggled against France, the country's former colonial master, subsequently becoming Algeria's youngest minister at the age of 25. He has ruled the country since 1999.
Following last year's stroke, Bouteflika returned home looking frail in a wheelchair and was rarely seen out in public.
Despite his ailing health, Bouteflika ran for president for a fourth time, following a controversial constitutional amendment clearing the way for him to run for office indefinitely. The opposition in Algeria have refused to recognise this result.
It is widely believed that power in Algeria is concentrated in the hands of the president, who rules in an uneasy consensus with top military, DRS intelligence and party officials.
Bouteflika has not openly named a successor and his poor health has sparked concerns about a possible power struggle for leadership of this energy-rich north African country.
