MAHALLA EL-KOBRA, 8 April 2008 — Clashes broke out yesterday between thousands of protesters and police for the second day in a northern Egyptian town in the wake of a strike over low wages. Thousands of security forces fired tear gas to disperse protesters who were throwing stones at them in the northern Nile Delta town of Mahalla El-Kobra. The streets were crammed with spectators and demonstrators, and crowds of mostly young male teenagers were marching and chanting. The clashes followed similar rioting Sunday, when thousands of demonstrators torched buildings, looted shops and hurled bricks at the police in this gritty industrial town, where textile factory workers had called the strike over low wages. The protesters yesterday did not appear to be textile factory workers. In Mahalla El-Kobra, police arrested about 150 people Sunday. It was not immediately known if there were any arrests or casualties yesterday. Elsewhere in the country Sunday, nearly 100 others were arrested and thousands skipped work and school. Meanwhile, a governor of a northern Egyptian province said yesterday that the local government would distribute free bread, according to the state-owned MENA news agency. The project would be financed by local businessmen, said Adly Hussein, governor of Qaluibiya, just north of Cairo. He said 500 poverty stricken families will be the first to receive the free bread, starting next week. Also yesterday, the Muslim Brotherhood, urged supporters to boycott today’s municipal elections. Since registration for local balloting began March 4, few of the 10,000 Brotherhood hopefuls have managed to officially register as candidates.
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