Algerian protesters chant slogans during a demonstration in Algiers, Algeria, February 12, 2011

Thousands of riot police tried to block off Algeria's capital Saturday to stop activists from holding an anti-government demonstration inspired by the uprising in Egypt.

But demonstrators defied the ban, gathering in the center of Algiers and chanting "Bouteflika out" in reference to Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

News reports said the crowds were in the thousands, but that police far outnumbered the protesters. Arrests were reported as police moved to disperse the demonstrators.

Protests are banned in Algiers under Algeria's 19-year-long state of emergency. The Algerian government has promised to lift the state of emergency in the future.

The unrest in Algeria builds on a wave of anti-government demonstrations in the Middle East and North Africa, and comes just one day after Egypt's uprising forced Hosni Mubarak to resign from the presidency after 30 years in power.