At least six people were killed and 120 injured in sectarian clashes outside a church in Cairo on Saturday, officials said. A group of Muslim Salafists attacked the Saint Mena Coptic Orthodox Church. Gunfire rang out as people sprinted for cover.
“With my own eyes I saw three people killed and dozens injured,” said Mina Adel, a Christian resident. “There’s no security here. There’s a big problem. People attacked us, and we have to protect ourselves.”
Egyptian Interior Ministry spokesman Alla Mahmoud said in a statement that six people were killed and 120 injured.
He said the clashes were sparked by reports of a Christian woman who married a Muslim man and was allegedly being held inside the church.
State TV, citing a source at the Health Ministry, said that eight people died and 144 were wounded in the violence.
Nearby, firefighters responded to a blaze at the Saint Virgin Mary’s Coptic Orthodox Church. Hundreds of residents stood outside as it burned and two men were seen jumping from a window of the building.
Authorities sent soldiers and police to help secure the area.
Tensions have risen this year between Egypt’s Muslim majority and its Coptic minority.
A Coptic church in the town of Alexandria was bombed on New Year’s Day, killing 23 people — the deadliest attack on Christians in Egypt in recent times.
Ten days later, a gunman killed a Christian man and wounded five other Christians on a train in Egypt.
Read Full Article: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/05/07/egypt.clashes/index.html?hpt=T2
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