Al-Sisi to retake state land from illegal occupiers

President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has ordered the Egyptian army to retake state land used illegally by thousands of Egyptians, Masralarabia.com reported on Sunday. The move must be completed by the end of this month.

People in Egypt have used state land for personal purposes for many years, for all sorts of reasons. There is, however, no official statistics to show how much land is actually involved.

Early last year, Al-Sisi ordered the formation of a committee headed by his aide Ibrahim Mihleb to investigate the issue. According to Masralarabia.com, it is expected that the evictions will cause disputes between the long-term users of the land in question and the government.

“No one should take something not meant for him,” Al-Sisi announced. “Millions of [Egyptians] do not find anything to eat, while others use tens of thousands of acres. I swear to Allah that not one acre will not be retaken.” He added that the state is ready to sell the land which is being used for significant projects.