Clashes erupted between security forces and protesters outside the Abu Qir Fertilizers Company headquarters east of Alexandria Wednesday evening.
Residents of the Tabia district in Abu Qir surrounded the headquarters and prevented employees from entering. Objecting to the company's taking on 150 workers from a nearby neighborhood, they demanded jobs.
Eyewitnesses told Al-Masry Al-Youm that they were carrying weapons and Molotov cocktails,
State-run news agency MENA said that the police managed to disperse the crowd with tear gas, and arrested nine protesters.
After hearing gunfire, the armed forces intervened, a source within the company told Al-Masry Al-Youm, to avoid clashes between the workers and the residents.
For their part, hundreds of workers staged a demonstration outside the security directorate, in protest against the residents of Abu Qir besieging the company premises and preventing them from entering.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
