CAIRO: At least one Egyptian security officer was killed on Thursday during violent clashes between mine workers and police in the central Egyptian city of Minya, a few hours south of Cairo, a police officer told Bikya Masr. According to news reports, over 45 protesters were arrested in the aftermath of the clashes with police. Witnesses and the police official confirmed that thousands of quarry workers and owners fought with police on Thursday after the protesters had blocked a bridge that connects the eastern and western parts of the city across the Nile. The workers were demonstrating against a government decision to impose new duties on quarried rock from the area, security sources said. In the initial march to the bridge, police attempted to disperse the group by firing teargas at protesters. In response, the workers began throwing stones at police, when the situation grew out of control. The police official said that dozens of workers had been taken to a local hospital where they are being treated with teargas inhilation. “And at least 9 police and security forces have been injured as well as one of our people killed. The situation is very tense,” the police officer said. He was not authorized to speak to the media. Leading independent newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm reported that the new taxes of 40 Egyptian pounds ($7.17) per ton of stone has led to some quarries being shut down and a number of others laying off workers. According to the daily newspaper, the protesters said they had resorted to the protest because their petitions to a number of officials had been ignored and some quarries had been shut down for more than two weeks. Workers unrest has been brewing in Egypt over the past few years, with massive demonstrations across the country leaving a handful of people dead. In Tanta, workers at one factory have been on strike for more than one month demanding new compensation from their Saudi Arabian overlords. They have threatened to take over the Tanta Flax and Oil company if their demands are not heard. The vast majority of the strikes have been the result of privatization attempts by the Egyptian government that have left hundreds, if not thousands, of workers out of work. BM
