The "minor stroke" that felled Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has plunged the government into crisis.
ALGIERS, Algeria, April 29 (UPI) -- The "minor stroke" that felled Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has plunged the government into crisis as it is being pushed into the forefront of countering North Africa's jihadists, an enemy it's been fighting for two decades.
The incapacitation of Bouteflika, 76, has heightened concerns about the stability of the energy-rich regional military heavyweight as the energy-rich country moves toward presidential elections next April amid a political power struggle.
Bouteflika was flown to Paris Saturday night after suffering what the officials APS news agency termed a minor stroke.
"His condition is not serious at all," said Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal, a close ally of Bouteflika.
But Bouteflika's widely believed to have been in poor health for some time. He's rarely appeared in public in recent years and has repeatedly gone to France and Switzerland for medical treatment.
He's dropped strong hints that he's ready to step aside for next year's election, that's likely to usher in a new era in Algerian politics.
Bouteflika is one of the last of the generation of veterans who won the grueling 1954-62 war of independence against the French and who have ruled over the country of 35 million since.
Bouteflika wants to handpick his successor -- his younger brother and personal physician Said is seen as the leading candidate -- but faces tough opposition from the generals, particularly the Department of Research and Security, the most powerful of the country's intelligence services.
This shadowy cabal known as "le pouvoir" -- the Power -- has long held the reins in what is ostensibly a democracy of 35 million people.
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Bouteflika stroke triggers Algerian crisis