Algeria President Dismisses Islamist-Leaning ex-Premier

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika dismissed regime veteran Abdelaziz Belkhadem as his special adviser on Tuesday, the presidential office announced, capping a dramatic downfall for the Islamist-leaning former premier.

Belkhadem, 68, had long been seen as the regime's go-between with moderate Islamists and his sacking comes after Algeria firmly put itself in the anti-Islamist camp alongside Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The president "issued a decree ending Belkhadem's functions" as a minister and "all of his activities related to the state", said a source cited by the Algeria Press Service.

The president also asked that Belkhadem, who served as prime minister from 2006 to 2008, be banned from any involvement in the ruling National Liberation Front (FLN), the source added.

Belkhadem, who is also a former foreign minister and speaker of parliament, served as FLN leader until February last year, when he was ousted in an internal election that split the party.

An Islamic-conservative dubbed "FLN with a beard" by the Algiers press, Belkhadem had helped bringing the Algerian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood -- the Movement for the Society of Peace (MSP) -- into successive Bouteflika governments between 1999 and 2012.

But since the July 2013 overthrow by the army of Egypt's elected Islamist president Mohammed Morsi, Bouteflika's government has thrown itself squarely into the anti-Brotherhood camp.

Algiers hosted Egypt's current President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who as army chief led Morsi's ouster, in June on his first foreign visit after his election the previous month.