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Protesters flooded the streets of Algeria for the 13th straight Friday, climbing atop police vans that were blocking the main demonstration site in the capital in a bold show of defiance.

Security forces earlier fired tear gas into the crowd in Algiers to keep them out of the central post office plaza, but lifted their barricades after protesters climbed onto the roofs of their vehicles.

Tens of thousands of people came out in Algiers and other cities in a pro-democracy movement that started Feb. 22, despite the daylong fasting required by the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

They demanded that Algeria's interim leader leave office and the country's July 4 election be scrapped.

Long-time former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigned in April, pressured by protests and the army chief, after earlier saying he would run for another term.