The heavy-handed intervention of the army and police on Sunday managed to block the general strike, but it has enraged the workers and youth who have continued to protest.

The situation in Mahalla has become far more serious than the media would lead us to believe. The police opened fire on the unarmed demonstrating workers and killed at least four. Here we publish an appeal for solidarity that we have received from Egypt.

Yesterday, Sunday, April 6, the workers of Egypt were preparing for what could have been a very powerful general strike. The state intervened heavily at the Mahalla textile plant arresting 150 workers. These methods cannot stop the growing wave of working class militancy and will only serve to increase the determination of the workers. The workers ‘intifada' which erupted later that day in the city is proof of this.

Message of solidarity from the Moroccan Marxists to the workers in Egypt in struggle. Read this in English, French and Arabic.

The magnificent wave of industrial action in Egypt, which started over a year ago, is continuing. And it continues to be ignored by the media. Price rises are the central focus of protest. But in a very important development, at the Ghazl al Mahalla textile company have raised political demands for the first time.

The Israeli siege of Gaza and imperialist pressure to retaliate on the Gaza population in order to isolate Hamas has provoked a major crisis that is shaking the Middle East. Once again the direct intervention of the masses has changed the whole scenario, putting into jeopardy the stability of the most important point of support of US imperialism in the Arab world: Egypt.