Algerian independence war veterans voiced their support for protests that have called for the resignation of President Abdulaziz Bouteflika, a sign of growing cracks in the ruling regime. “It is the duty of Algerian society in all its segments to take to the streets,” the influential National Organization of Mujahideen - veterans like Bouteflika of the 1954-1962 war of independence against France - said late on Tuesday. The protesters have expressed their opposition to Bouteflika’s run for reelection in next month’s presidential elections. The veteran president has been in power since 1999. Two branches of powerful Algerian labor union UGTA, representing tens of thousands of workers, also opposed the re-election plan. “The members do not want a system that is linked to oligarchs,” the branches of Rouiba and Reghaia, two large industrial suburbs of Algiers, said in a statement, referring to close relationships between Bouteflika and business tycoons. UGTA national Chairman Abdelmadjid Sidi Said is close to Bouteflika and had warned against instability after the first protests erupted two weeks ago. In another sign of dissent, the national association of lawyers associations demanded that the authorities postpone the elections and set up a transitional government, a statement said. Lawyers have called for a protest on Thursday. Tens of thousands of people have rallied in cities around Algeria in the largest protests since the 2011 “Arab Spring”, calling on Bouteflika, 82, not to stand in an election scheduled for April 18. Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Gaed Salah, who is known for his loyalty to Bouteflika, reiterated that the military would not allow a breakdown in security. “We are committed to providing safe conditions that ensure that Algerians fulfill their electoral duties,” the private Ennahar television statement quoted him as saying. Police deployed Wednesday in the Algerian capital with water cannons, a day after thousands of students demonstrated against Bouteflikas reelection bid. Although the city remained calm, security forces were bracing for further protests on Friday as demonstrators have vowed to take to the streets until president resigns. Half a dozen police vans and a water cannon were deployed near Algiers iconic main post office. There was a similar deployment at the nearby Place Audin which has also drawn thousands of demonstrators since the protest movement first erupted on February 22. Bouteflika, who suffered a stroke in 2013 and is rarely been seen in public, has been in Switzerland since February 24 for what the presidency has described as "routine medical tests". Bouteflikas bid to stand in the election was submitted on his behalf Sunday to the Constitutional Council by his campaign manager. Bouteflika promised Sunday that if he wins the April poll, he will organize a "national conference" to set a date for further elections which he would not contest. But Algerians weary of his two-decade rule angrily dismissed his promise as an insult. In Paris, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Wednesday that France was watching the situation in its former colony closely but it was for Algerians to decide their future.