ALGERIAN doctors have called for mass demonstrations today to increase pressure on President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to resign as the country celebrates its independence day.

The Collective of Algerian Medical Residents (Camra) issued  a statement yesterday calling on students to join the protests and denounce the country’s “ruling gangs.”

Mr Bouteflika is clinging on to power despite facing five weeks of protests which were triggered by his decision to stand for a fifth term of office.

He has rarely being seen in public since he suffered a stroke in 2013.

The decision to stand was eventually reversed and elections planned for next month were scrapped in an attempt to quell the protests.

However, demonstrations have continued in most major cities with hundreds of thousands pouring onto the streets of the capital Algiers over the weekend.

Newly appointed Deputy Prime Minister Ramtane Lamamra is expected to start a tour of some of Algeria’s main overseas allies abroad to explain the new political roadmap, starting in Moscow.

However protesters have rejected the changes at the top-table and many senior members of the ruling FLN are turning their back on the ailing president.

UN-led negotiations are charged with drafting a new constitution and drawing up a timetable for fresh elections.