Cairo, 26 Feb - (ANA) - Egypt's president has asked outgoing housing minister Ibrahim Mahlab to form a new government, a day after the interim cabinet resigned unexpectedly. Interim Prime Minister Hazem Beblawi did not give a clear reason for his government's resignation on Monday. The surprise announcement came amid a series of public sector strikes and an acute shortage of cooking gas. Mr Beblawi was appointed in July after the military overthrew President Mohammed Morsi following mass protests. Since then, more than 1,000 people have been killed and thousands of others detained in a crackdown by the security forces on the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist movement to which Mr Morsi belongs. Militants based in the Sinai peninsula have meanwhile stepped up attacks on government, police and the armed forces, killing hundreds. The new prime minister designate vowed on Tuesday that his government would "crush terrorism in all the corners of the country". There has been a spate of bomb attacks against Egyptian security forces in recent weeks. The authorities have accused the Muslim Brotherhood of orchestrating the attacks by militants and designated it a terrorist organisation in December. The movement has vehemently denied the charge. Mr Mahlab also told local media that he would focus on finding ways to stop strikes, boost employment and production, and restore calm to the country. "Restoration of security and national unity of the Egyptian people are indispensable to move forward towards improving the living conditions of Egyptian families," he said. Sources told the paper they expected the new government to be sworn on Saturday. Before becoming housing minister, Ibrahim Mahlab was chairman of Arab Contractors, a state-owned construction company that is one of the biggest in the Middle East. He was a senior official in ousted President Hosni Mubarak's former ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) and was appointed to the now-disbanded upper house of parliament, the Shura Council, in 2010. (ANA)

FA/ANA/26 February 2014----------