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Algerian leader returns home after surgery | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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ALGIERS, (Reuters) – Algerian President Abdelaziz returned home on Saturday after more than a month in France, where he had surgery for a stomach ulcer, witnesses said.

Thousands of supporters thronged Algiers’ streets to cheer his return.

Bouteflika, 68, is widely seen as a symbol of stability after leading his oil-producing country out of a civil war that lasted more than a decade and left about 150,000 dead.

Bouteflika, who was flown to Paris on Nov. 26 for the operation, was re-elected in 2004 for a second five-year term.

He is due to sign the 2006 budget on Saturday, but it is not clear yet whether he plans to fully resume all his activities or extend his convalescence.