It has been troubled times for the many Christians in the middle East of late, and this trouble continued in Cairo in Wednesday as hundreds of Christian protestors clashed with more than 1,000 police officers.
Police authorities eventually shut Cairo's Mansheyit Nasr district down as helmeted police carrying riot shields and nightsticks stood guard.
Authorities could offer no explanation as to the reason for the protest, and journalists were banned from entering the area.
Injuries were reported on both sides, but exact numbers were not forthcoming.
Mansheyit Nasr is home to Cairo's Zabaleen, the thousands of predominantly Coptic Christians who collect and sort garbage.
Tensions between this community and authorities have been heightened since May 2009, when foreign trash-collecting companies were brought in to replace them.