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Monday, March 24, 2008       Free Headline Alerts

Egypt's army responds to food fight caused by bread crisis

CAIRO — Egypt has employed its military forces to respond to violence caused by a severe bread shortage.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has ordered the army to bake massive amounts of bread to ease the shortage. The bread shortage has sparked unrest that resulted in the killing of several people.

Egyptian newspapers have reported fights at bakeries in Alexandria and Cairo that refused to sell subsidized bread to customers, Middle East Newsline reported. Bread is a heavily-subsidized commodity in Egypt, half of whose population lives below the poverty line.

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Mubarak's spokesman, Suleiman Awad, said the army owns a huge number of bakeries to ensure food for troops. The Interior Ministry also controls a network of bakeries for police and security forces.

Officials said the bread shortage was the result of the theft of flour meant for the production of government-subsidized bread. They said many subsidized bakeries sold their flour on the black market.

In all, about 20 percent of the 20,000 tons of flour delivered to subsidized bakeries over the last six months were sold on the black market, officials said. The embezzlement took place as the price of unsubsidized bread and other commodities rose significantly in 2007.

Mubarak has often turned to the military to help ease civilian crises in such areas as housing, sanitation and aid relief. The military has been regarded as more efficient and less corrupt than civil government.

Officials said Mubarak has ordered a crackdown on subsidized bakeries. They said investigations would be conducted to find the missing flour and those who illegally sold the commodity.



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