Algeria war hero and protest icon dies

Lakhdar Bouregaa, a highly respected veteran of Algeria’s war of independence against France and a key figure in an anti-regime protest movement, has died at the age of 87. “Lakhdar Bouregaa is now under God’s protection,” his son Hani Bouregaa wrote on Facebook late on Wednesday, two weeks after the veteran’s family announced he had contracted coronavirus. The longtime opposition political figure, who spent the last half of 2019 in prison for his role in the Hirak mass protest movement, was buried at the Sidi Yahia cemetary in the hills above Algiers. Hundreds of mourners turned out to pay their respects, despite coronavirus restrictions on gatherings. — AFP