Algeria lifts 19-year-old state of emergency

ALGIERS: The Algerian government has officially lifted its 19-year-old state of emergency, the official APS news agency reported.

Demonstrators have been demanding the lifting of the state of emergency, which bans protests and limits freedom of speech. Algeria's cabinet on Tuesday adopted an order to lift it.

Earlier this month, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika said he would end the state of emergency, which was imposed in 1992 during the brutal civil war that killed hundreds of people. He said that it had been imposed "for the sole purpose of combating terrorism."

The protests in Algeria began one day after Egyptian president Hosny Mubarak was forced to step down after 30 years in power. In January, Algeria experienced several days of rioting over rising food prices, poverty and high unemployment.

(BNO NEWS )