Algerians Protest 10th Friday in a Row Demanding 'Clean' Gov't

Algerians took to the streets for the tenth Friday in a row to demand that army chief Lieutenant-General Ahmed Gaed Salah and the entire elite who supported former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the recently deposed ruler of 20 years.

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After Bouteflika's resignation in early April, the acting head of state Abdelkader Bensalah, Prime Minister Nouredin Bedaui, and General Salah have been trying to show the people a "new face of government," but continued protests show they may not be convinced.

A huge crowd chanting their names, demanded a real political transition to end corruption, resuscitate the economy and create a more modern society.

"They want us to believe that change has already arrived and it is not true, they are part of the corrupt circle, but now they want to look like the opposite," explained Marwan, an official who marched with a large Berber flag in Algiers, the capital city.

"Everything they are doing is a theater, but they do not deceive us ... we won't leave the streets until they get it," he said, as reported by EFE.

"The 10th week [of demonstrations] at Bordj Bou Arreridj city, 10/10. God protect you. Algeria free and democratic."

The protesters flooding those public spaces were in a festive mood, and demanded that "only competely clean candidates who love the people" be able to run in the next presidential elections. Bensalah, Bedaui and Salah's for the short term are determined to stay in office until elections are held on July 4.

International analysts agree, however, there could be a "hard exit" from the current political crisis in the African country which holds a key position in stability of the the Mediterranean energy security and geopolitical .

Algeria is the home of a pipeline which exports 54 percent of African gas to Spain. It is also one of the main routes taken by Sahel migrants who try to reach Europe.

According to Reuters estimates, the number of participants after Friday prayers could have easily reached hundreds of thousands all over the country.

"The people want to uproot you," a crowd chanted, addressing the political and military elite that has ruled the oil- and gas-producing nation since its independence from France in 1962.