Cairo: Plans for a general strike in Egypt fizzled out after the government made good on its warning to take firm action against protesters by arresting dozens in several provinces.

"Ninety-five people have been arrested around the country, including in Cairo and Alexandria, for inciting unrest," a security official said, adding that people had failed to heed the call to strike.

Among those detained were opposition leaders including Islamist journalist Mohammed Abdel Qudoos and Magdi Hussein who heads the suspended Labour party.

Bloggers and members of other opposition parties, including the Nasserist and the liberal Ghad parties as well as from the protest movement Kefaya, were also arrested.

Despite official claims that the industrial action had failed, traffic was unusually light on the first day of the Egyptian working week, reporters said.

Attendance at schools and universities was also lower than usual, professors and students said. "Some people were striking, some stayed home out of fear there would be trouble on the streets," one security source said, requesting anonymity.

Security forces and riot police were deployed in Cairo s central Tahrir square after calls for a protest there. Analysts said that even though a massive strike did not take place nationally, the call to strike was significant in itself.
Source : PTI