At Least 10 Reported Killed In Christian-Muslim Clashes In Egypt
By RFE RL
(RFE/RL) — Security and hospital officials say at least 10 people were killed in clashes between Christians and Muslims in Cairo on March 8. More than a hundred were injured.
The clashes erupted after Christian protesters blocked a major highway to protest the burning of a church on the outskirts of the Egyptian capital last week. That burning was sparked by a row over a love affair between a Christian man and a Muslim woman.
On March 8, a crowd of Muslims set upon the Christians blocking the road and the two sides battled with guns, clubs, and knives for hours.
Coptic Christians, who make up around 10 percent of Egypt’s 80 million population, have long complained of discrimination. The latest spike in sectarian tensions comes in the wake of a popular uprising that ousted longtime president Hosni Mubarak last month.
