According to Egypt’s state-run television station, 13 people lost their lives in a Christian-Muslim conflict in Cairo on Wednesday, while another 90 were injured.
The conflict began when hundreds of Christians protested the burning of a church in a village outside of Cairo by Muslims. The Muslims in this village had burnt the church down after they discovered a local Christian man had been involved in a romance with a Muslim woman.
The Christian protestors were met by thousands of Muslims who reportedly threw stones at them, and then began firing on them. The army then arrived and allegedly also fired upon the Christians. Homes and local businesses were also torched.
Attorney Wagih Anwar Abou Saad, who was an eye witness of the conflict, informed the Free Coptic Voice that, “the army is protecting the Muslims, who sought shelter behind the army tanks.”
A representative of the Coptic Church, Father Abdelmaseeh Baseet also claimed in an interview with the CNN that only Christians were killed in the clash. Of the property destroyed, only Coptic owned factories were torched.
The Egyptian military, who now control the country after the successful ousting of former President Hosni Mubarak, promised to find out who is behind “the acts of violence” and to hold them liable “to the full extent of the law.”