Hundreds arrested as Algeria cracks down on protest movement

Crackdown intensifies on pro-democracy Hirak movement by authorities.

Several hundred protesters were arrested in Algeria as authorities ramp up efforts to quell a years-long protest movement that has demanded root-and-branch political reform. Said Salhi, head of the Algerian League for Human Rights, said about 800 people were detained in Algiers and 19 other governorates across the North African country on Friday. The majority were released but 40 people remain in custody, he wrote on Twitter.