Egypt launches campaign to reclaim state land from squatters

CAIRO – 16 May 2017: The Ministry of Interior launched Monday a wide security campaign to reclaim state land seized illegally in Upper Egypt, upon instructions of President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi.

In an official statement, Naser al-Abd, assistant minister of interior for Upper Egypt, stressed that the security campaign will continue for several days until all state land is restored.

The ministry seeks to cooperate with the targeted governorates and supervisory authorities to accomplish the process properly, Abd added.

According to a security source at the ministry, the campaign has already reclaimed dozens of feddans, and deployed intensive security forces to secure these areas.

Sisi had ordered the army and police to investigate adverse possession and reclaim the illegally acquired state lands, during his visit to Qena governorate on Saturday.

Adverse possession has spread in Egypt for years. There are, however, no official statistics to show how much land is actually involved.