Egypt's military rulers have vowed to crack down on religious violence after 12 people died and 232 were injured in clashes in a Cairo suburb sparked by unconfirmed suspicions that Christians had abducted a woman who converted to Islam.
The inter-faith conflict yesterda was Egypt's worst since 13 people died in violence on 9 March that followed a church burning and threw down a new challenge for generals ruling the country since the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak.
Prime Minister Essam Sharaf cancelled a tour of Gulf Arab states to chair a cabinet meeting where the government decided to deploy more security near religious sites and toughen laws criminalising attacks on places of worship.
Tension was high and the army cordoned off streets near the Saint Mina church, where about 500 conservative Salafist Muslims gathered yesterday to call on Christians to hand over the woman.
The Salafists were joined by other Muslims who demanded access to the church to see if the woman was inside.
Tensions flared, gunfire broke out and the two sides exchanged firebombs and stones.
Soldiers and police fired shots in the air and used teargas to separate the two sides but stone-throwing in streets near the church went on through the night.
A power cut plunged the neighbourhood into darkness, making it harder for the security forces to quell the violence.
State TV reported that the clashes in the working class neighbourhood of Imbaba, in northwest Cairo, also left 186 injured, Egypt's army said it would try 190 people in a military court over the clashes.
The Egyptian army said on its Facebook page that ‘the Supreme Military Council decided to send all those who were arrested in yesterday's events, that is 190 people, to the Supreme Military Court...,’
The two groups clashed after Muslims attacked the Coptic Saint Mena church in Imbaba to free a Christian woman they alleged was being held against her will because she wanted to convert to Islam.
Interfaith relationships often cause tension in Egypt, where Christians make up about 10% of its 80m people.
The strife represents another challenge to Egypt's military rulers who are trying to restore law and order after President Hosni Mubarak was forced to step down in a popular uprising in February.
Witnesses said some 500 conservative Islamists known as salafists gathered at the Saint Mina Church in the Cairo suburb of Imbaba demanding to take custody of a woman they said had converted to Islam.
A shouting match ensued between church guards and neighbours and the Islamists. The verbal clash developed into a full-fledged confrontation during which the two sides exchanged gunfire, firebombs and stones.
‘I just left one young man dead inside the church,’ one Christian witness told journalists at the scene.
Authorities deployed large numbers of soldiers and police, backed by armoured vehicles, to the area. The army fired shots in the air and used teargas to separate both sides, witnesses said.
