Thousands welcome Algerian leader home

Algeria’s President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has returned home after treatment at a French hospital. Thousands of people flooded into the capital Algiers from all over the country to greet him.

They gathered around the airport and packed into city centre streets from dawn.Police said hundreds of coaches, taxis and private cars blocked all roads into the capital and traffic jams several kilometers long formed. Bouteflika was in France for five weeks. The 68-year-old Algerian leader was admitted to the Val De Grace military hospital in Paris on 26 November, where he was treated for a bleeding stomach ulcer. He was discharged on 17 December, but stayed in the French capital to convalesce. His first official duty on returning to the Algerian capital was to sign the country’s budget for the year ahead.