Algeria's Bouteflika says he will step down by the end of April

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has announced that he will resign before the end of the month after weeks of protests.

Bouteflika, according to state media, is set to resign before 28 April, which follows local media reports that the veteran president will submit his notice within the next two days.

The president will take "steps to ensure state institutions continue to function during the transition period", said the statement, adding his "resignation would occur before April 28, 2019".

Algerian newspapers - including Elbilad and Elakhbar -released articles stating that longtime leader Bouteflika will resign within two days as anti-government protests continue.

This comes a day after Bouteflika named a new government headed by recently appointed premier Noureddine Bedoui.

State television on Sudnay reported that armed forces chief Ahmed Gaid Salah, who has called for Bouteflika, who has ruled Algeria since 1999, to step down, remained as deputy defence minister.

The reports are speculating the new government was formed to prepare Algeria for a transition after Bouteflika resigns.

Veteran politician Ramtane Lamamra, who was appointed deputy prime minister and foreign minister on 11 March, was not named in the new administration.

Ailing Bouteflika, who has rarely being seen in public since a 2013 stroke, has come under mounting pressure to quit power since his decision to seek a fifth term sparked huge demonstrations.

Bouteflika said earlier this month he would pull out of the race and postponed April elections, in moves that angered Algerians who see it as a ploy to extend his two decades in power.