Ailing president makes rare appearance to mark Algerian independence

Algeria’s ailing President, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, made a rare public appearance on Sunday to mark the 53rd anniversary of the country’s war of independence with France. State television broadcast images of 78 year-old Bouteflika in a wheelchair while visiting a war memorial to the country’s martyrs.

The president, who rarely leaves his official residence after suffering a stroke in April 2013, was accompanied by a number of senior officials.

Bouteflika has refused calls by opposition parties to organise early presidential elections due to his deteriorating health. “I will continue to serve the duty with which I was entrusted, despite my health,” he insisted in a statement on television.