Algiers - President Abdelaziz Bouteflika Saturday promoted the first woman in Algeria's military history to the rank of general.

Bouteflika named as general Aardjoun Fatma-Zohra, a division head in the central hospital of the Algerian Army.

Alongside her promotion, 16 men were named general, and another four were named to the higher rank of major general.(dpa)

Algiers - Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was elected to an unprecedented third term with 90.24 per cent of the vote, Interior Minister Nouredine Yazid Zerhouni announced Friday. The re-election of the 72-year-old Bouteflika was considered a foregone conclusion after the two main opposition parties decided to boycott the vote, alleging that it had been "rigged in advance."

The five candidates who stood against Bouteflika were marginal political figures little known by the general public.

Algiers  - Algerian Presidnet Abdelaziz Bouteflika has set a date of April 9 for presidential elections, and has invited several international groups to send observers, Algiers said Saturday.

A presidential palace statement said Bouteflika had named former justice minister Mohamed Teguia to head the election commission for the voting.

He also invited the Organisation of Islamic Conference, the Arab League and the African Union to send observers to monitor the elections, the statment said.