Embassy Denies Reports of Algerian President’s Death
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Algeria’s embassy in Iran denied rumors about death of the North African country’s 80-year-old President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
Speaking to Tasnim on Saturday, a staffer at Algeria’s embassy in Tehran quashed rumors of Mr Bouteflika’ death.
The president has been ill for a long time, but the news of his death, published by untrustworthy Arabic-language websites, is false, the embassy member said.
The Algerian president, who suffers from a number of health issues, became wheelchair-bound after a stroke in April 2013.
In a May 2012 speech, Bouteflika had hinted he would give up power at the end of his third term in 2014. “For my generation, it’s game over,” the president had announced.
But despite a stroke the following year which forced him to spend nearly three months recovering in France, he fought the 2014 election and soundly beat his longtime rival, former prime minister Ali Benflis.
