22 killed in Egypt as Christians clash with troops

[moncler564]

In the bloodiest unrest since last winter's uprising, authorities said,
three soldiers and 19 protesters were killed Sunday when Copts threw
Molotov cocktails at riot police outside the state Radio and Television
Building in downtown Cairo. The chaos was further inflamed when thugs in
plainclothes attacked Copts, some carrying crucifixes, as they marched
along the Nile at dusk.
The violence escalated quickly and jolted what had begun as a peaceful
rally by Christians to protest the recent burning by Muslims of a church
in southern Egypt. Copts began hurling bottles and rocks at security
forces after military vehicles plowed through demonstrators as gunshots
echoed overhead and crowds scattered.
"Protesters fired bird shot at the military police," said a policeman at
the scene who would not give his name because he was not authorized to
speak to the media. "The police didn't interfere until protesters shot
dead one of our officers and set ablaze a number of military vehicles
and threw stones at the TV building."
But Peter Magdy, a Coptic protester, said: "We wanted to have a sit-in
to demand the end of oppression against Christians. But the military
police told us to leave after 10 minutes and then people from nearby
neighborhoods came and attacked us with stones and sticks.... Military
vehicles ran over many demonstrators and I ran to save myself."
Tear gas and flames rose along the Nile as riots spread into Tahrir
Square and young men appeared in the streets to support the army by
chasing Copts. Both sides plucked cobblestones from the roads to use as
weapons. Television footage showed a priest shielding a soldier being
beaten by Copts. More than 150 people were injured.
The unrest revealed the intensifying mistrust between Christians and
Muslims at a time when the country's ruling military council has not
protected Coptic churches and other institutions from attacks by radical
Islamists. Extremist voices have grown louder as Salafis and other
ultraconservative Islamists have enjoyed broader freedoms since the fall
of Mubarak's police state.
In May, 12 people were killed when Muslims attacked two churches in
Cairo's impoverished Imbaba neighborhood. In March, Muslims burned down
a church in Helwan, south of Cairo. Those attacks and the ensuing
political turmoil have prompted thousands of Copts, who make up 10% of
Egypt's population of more than 80 million, to leave the country in
recent months.
Their departures mark a disturbing prospect and underline the darker
side of the "Arab Spring" uprisings. The unity among Egyptians that
brought down the former regime has been splintering for months. The
country is struggling with economic problems and bracing for
parliamentary elections in November, which are likely to further harden
religious and political divisions.
Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf contacted religious leaders and
security officials Sunday night to calm the situation. The violence
flared shortly after thousands of Copts and some Muslim supporters
marched from an outlying neighborhood to join a sit-in at the Radio and
Television Building. The bloodshed was at least partly instigated by
thugs, who often appear at protests and sit-ins to intimidate
antigovernment demonstrators.
"The only beneficiary of these events and acts of violence are the
enemies of the January revolution and the enemies of the Egyptian
people, both Muslim and Christian," he said on his Facebook page.
But Copts have accused the ruling military council and its interim
government of not cracking down on extremist elements. Copts have been
protesting for months for improved security; many of them say they were
better protected under Mubarak than current military leader Field
Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi.




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moncler564