afrol News, 17 February - Egyptian truckers have entered the fourth day on strike in protest against the law that would ban the vehicles by 2011, local media has reported.

The Gulf Times reported that violence escalated in al-Gharbiya governorate as the strike continued, with annoyed drivers throwing heavy rocks at trailer drivers who refused to strike.

The police have confirmed an arrest of more than 25 drivers since Friday, when truckers clashed in the northern Nile Delta province of Gharbiya after security forces attempted to disperse the protesters.

The government said the strike has driven up the price of cement and other building materials in Egypt. Cement prices have risen to 900 Egyptian pounds ($161.7) per tonne in some areas.

The ministry of transport said that nearly one-third of Egypt's 6,000 traffic-related deaths were a result of the lorries, and the new law is an effort to stem the growing accidents rates on Egypt's streets and roadways.

However, a spokesman for the truckers union, Mohamed Abdel Moneim, said drivers would not give in until the law is struck down. "We will continue to strike until our demands are met," he said.

The ministry said there are 40,000 articulated vehicles in use in the Arab world's most populous country and they account for a disproportionate number of accidents.

Egypt's roads are among the most chaotic and dangerous in the world, with traffic laws widely flouted. Road accidents kill about 6,000 people and cause 30,000 injuries each year, according to transport ministry figures.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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