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.