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Algeria's ailing Bouteflika makes first appearance in month

By AFP
Algeria Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, pictured in 2106, appeared on television receiving Algeria's minister for African Union and Arab League affairs.  By  Canal AlgeireAFPFile
MAR 19, 2017 LISTEN
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, pictured in 2106, appeared on television receiving Algeria's minister for African Union and Arab League affairs. By (Canal Algeire/AFP/File)

Algiers (AFP) - President Abdelaziz Bouteflika appeared on television Sunday for the first time since a visit by Germany's chancellor was called off last month because of the Algerian leader's ailing health.

State television showed the 80-year-old president receiving Algeria's minister for African Union and Arab League affairs, Abdelkader Messahel.

On February 20, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called off a scheduled visit to Algiers at the last minute because the veteran president was suffering from "acute bronchitis".

Bouteflika won re-election in 2014 to serve a fourth term, despite having suffered a mini-stroke the previous year that has affected his speech and mobility.

He has been confined to a wheelchair since the stroke, meeting foreign guests at his home in Zeralda west of the capital and making few public appearances.

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