French-Algerians take to the streets of Marseille Jan. 15, 2011 after Tunisia's president is ousted. (Photo by Marcovdz, Creative Commons)

Writing for The Guardian, Karima Bennoune recounts Algerian anti-government in which demonstrators clashed with police. Bennoune argues that the "contexts" of Egyptian and Algerian protests are different while the "struggles are the same." Here's an excerpt from Bennoune's article:

There were small echoes of Egypt. Thousands of police in full riot gear painted the square blue in their uniforms, attempting to occupy the space and prevent the demonstration, yet the protestors remained, for hours risking arrest and beatings, shouting slogans and singing effervescently. A large group of young men, with the obvious cooperation of the police, entered the scene violently, chanting in favour of President Bouteflika (in power since 1999) and attempting to provoke fights with the protestors. (This was so reminiscent of Cairo, that for a moment, one half-expected a charge of men riding camels like in Tahrir Square.) At one point, these youths rushed the bench where I stood taking photographs with journalists, and we all toppled to the ground. Later, the pro-government provocateurs started throwing large stones....

Read it all here.

Do other regional protests stand a chance of impacting government change?