Magharebia

Algiers police blocked young protestors from holding a pro-reform rally on Saturday (March 19th). The demonstration, organised on Facebook, was set to coincide with the 49th anniversary of "Victory Day", the cease-fire that led to Algeria's independence from France, Ennahar reported.

Meanwhile, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on Saturday said that the lifting of Algeria's 19-year state of emergency was "a new page opened on the path to comprehensive reforms... which cannot be fruitful in the absence of political reforms", APS reported.