Algerian youth throughout the country have protested against living conditions and the rising prices of basic commodities.
Demonstrations fuelled by young people began on Wednesday night.
In Algiers, the capital, protesters threw rocks and other debris at police, and lit garbage bins and tires on fire. Riot police responded with tear gas.
The Quotidien d'Algerie website reported that protests broke out in several neighborhoods of Algiers, including Bab El Oued, Laquiba, and Bachdjarah.
Demonstrators posted videos of large fires burning in the street, police firing tear gas, and protesters throwing rocks.
The website also reported that protests had broken out in the coastal town of Ouahran.
The protesters chanted slogans criticizing the high cost of living and blaming the problem on president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the Reuters news agency reported.
Bouteflika has been in power for 11 years and was elected to his third term in 2009 with 90 per cent of the vote after parliament abolished presidential term limits.
The government recently announced rises in prices for basic staples such as oil and sugar.
The country is also running low on flour, prompting fears of a bread shortage.
Protesters are also angry at the lack of water, power outages, and poor distribution of social housing.
Bouteflika has overseen a relatively calm period in Algeria, despite the lack of a democratic opposition, and has tried to institute a reconciliation plan to end hostilities with Islamist fighters.
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Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika
Al-Jazeera