Reuters reported that 9 day strike at ArcelorMittal Annaba has ended after the company agreed to worker demands that it keep a coking plant open.

Mr Smain Kouadria union leader told Reuters that “We have decided to stop our strike after ArcelorMittal agreed to renovate the coking plant as soon as possible. This is a victory for us and we will come back to work tomorrow."

A spokesman for ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, said he could not make any immediate comment.

Workers went out on strike because they said permanent closure of the coking plant would lead to several hundred job losses.

The complex, near the town of Annaba, produced about 750,000 tonnes of flat and long steel products in 2009, most of it destined for Algeria's domestic market but with some also exported to the Mediterranean region.

(Sourced from Reuters)