Algeria's ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on Saturday made his first public appearance since April, as he paid tribute to the martyrs of the Algerian Revolution, part of the Independence Day celebrations.
Bouteflika, sitting in a wheelchair, laid a wreath at a commemorative stele in the El Alia cemetery here in Algiers to commemorate those who were killed in a liberation war started in 1954, APS news agency reported.
Algeria, a former French colony, won independence in 1962 after the seven-year war that claimed 1.5 million lives, and ended the colonial rule.
The 77 year-old president, who was reelected for a fourth term in April, suffered a minor stroke in 2013 which affected his movement ability. He was sworn in on April 28 despite his health problems.
His last public statement dated back to mid March, when he announced that he would run again for the presidency. He has been in power since 1999, and was re-elected twice, in 2004 and 2009 respectively.