Algeria’s president Abdelaziz Bouteflika has resigned with immediate effect, ceding power in the face of massive protests against his 20-years rule.

The ailing 82-years-old leader announced his stepping down, in a letter published by APS news agency on Tuesday, hours after the army chief Ahmed Gail Salah demanded immediate action to remove him from office.

In the letter to the president of the Constitutional Council of Algeria, Bouteflika said he decided to resign in order to contribute to calming down the souls and minds of the citizens of Algeria, so that they can collectively take Algeria to the better future they aspire.

He also said he made this decision to avoid and prevent the arguments which distort the stability of Algeria, and to avoid turning it into serious skirmishes that will put the property and the lives of Algerian citizens under threat.

The announcement prompted celebrations in Algeria's capital Algiers, with hundreds of people singing songs and waving flags in front of the city's central post office.