Saturday, May 14, 2011

Cairo tense after religious clashes

Troops patrol streets as Copts camp out in Egypt's capital, calling for justice after 12 killed in weekend clashes.

Egyptian troops are out in force in central Cairo after weekend riots left 12 people dead and more than 200 injured.

Authorities on Monday said they have arrested the man behind a protest that sparked two days of sectarian violence.

Ali Yassin Mohamed is among 25 people arrested on Monday and will face a military court. Mohamed is a Muslim and says his wife was kidnapped after converting from Christianity to Islam.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian army is continuing to protect a church set on fire during the sectarian clashes. Services have resumed at St Mary's church in the Imbaba suburb of Cairo, which was damaged in Saturday's fire.

Clashes between Muslims and Copts have raised fears that more sectarian strife could erupt in the country which remains under military rule three months after former president Hosni Mubarak was ousted from power.

Al Jazeera's Jamal El-Shayyal, reporting from the Egyptian capital, said the situation on the ground remained calm but very tense on Monday.

"About 200 Egyptian Christians remain camped outside the state-owned television in what they say is an open-ended sit-in," he said.

"Some are demanding the resignation of chief military ruler Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, others are just calling for justice to be handed to those who were behind the attacks on the churches in Imbaba."

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