Algeria's First President Ahmed Ben Bella Dies

The first president of Algeria, Ahmed Ben Bella, has died at his home in Algiers following an illness, official media say. 

Mr Ben Bella, who was reportedly aged 96, was released from hospital after undergoing tests in February, Algeria Press Agency cited relatives as saying.

Mr Ben Bella led Algeria to independence against France before becoming president in 1963.

But three years later he was overthrown by his defence minister and jailed.

The BBC's Chloe Arnold in Algiers says that while Mr Ben Bella's policies were controversial - he ruled Algeria as a one-party state - he was widely respected for his struggle against French rule.

In later years, he became an advocate for democracy, she says, rejecting the growing Islamist elements in Algerian society amid the bloody conflict between militants and security forces in the 1990s.

Posted in: Africa