ALGIERS, Algeria, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- At least two people have been killed and hundreds injured as riots over high food prices spread throughout Algeria, officials said Saturday.
Unrest has become so severe the Algerian Football League canceled weekend soccer matches, the BBC reported.
Rioting began in Algiers when prices went up as the new year began. Through the week, violent protests spread to other cities, and many young men and teenagers took to the streets after Friday prayers.
Interior Minister Daho Ould Kabila told APS, the state-run news agency, there were two deaths overnight.
An emergency meeting of government ministers approved steps to reduce food prices Saturday, al-Jazeera reported.
"Nothing can cast doubt on the resolute will of the state, under the direction of the president of the republic, to intervene whenever necessary to preserve the purchasing power of citizens in the face of any price increase," an official statement said.
