Hope of finding more survivors from Algeria's killer earthquake was all but lost early today, three days after the disaster claimed at least 2,000 lives in the country's densely populated north.
More than 85 hours after the disaster, attention focused more on the plight of the newly homeless, the risk of disease and the seething public rage over the heavy loss of life, widely blamed on corruption in the building industry.
Protesters in Boumerdes, where more than half of the deaths occurred, mounted an extraordinary show of defiance during a visit by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, chasing him out of town under a hail of insults and projectiles scrabbled from the rubble.
Mr Bouteflika's visit was seen as a callous bid to make political hay of the tragedy as presidential elections approach in less than a year, and awakened an undercurrent of discontent over enduring socio-economic problems facing the north African country.
The liberal press pulled no punches in reporting the incident, some even calling on Mr Bouteflika to resign and reminding him that when he campaigned for election in 1999 he had promised to "go home" when his services were no longer wanted.
But the daily Le Matinpredicted that "as usual, in a splendid ostrich posture, the government will fail to heed the major warnings Algerians are sending it."
Meanwhile the official death toll stood at 2,047 this morning, with hundreds still unaccounted for.
Aftershocks continue to shake the region, with one reaching 4.1 on the Richter scale yesterday, raising fears of further collapses of buildings weakened by the main quake on Wednesday.
Hundreds of people have abandoned their homes, demanding emergency lodging from the government to no avail.
AFP