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April 16, 2006
Egypt: Christian-Muslim Conflict Continues, Muslim Dies
We described how on Friday, April 14, in three churches around Alexandria, Egypt, Muslim knifemen attacked worshippers, leading to the death of one Coptic Christian, 67-year old Noshi Atta Girgis and up to 16 Christians being injured. At Mr Girgis's funeral yesterday, the funeral procession became a demonstration, which then descended in sectarian violence between Muslims and Christians. Thirty people were injured, and fifteen were injured.
Today, the violence has broken out again in Alexandria between the two factions, and 43 people have been injured, with one Muslim dead. News reports come from Jordan Times, Iran Daily, Reuters via the Melbourne Age, and Associated Press via The Hawaii Channel and MSNBC.
The Muslim who died had apparently been badly beaten in yesterday's funeral clashes, and died today. He was aged 24, said a representative of the Muslim Brotherhood. A hospital source claimed the man was in his 40s, was called Mustafa Meshaal, and had been clubbed on the head yesterday.
Today, Christians gathered around the region of the Saints Church (Al-Quidissin) in Sidi Bishr district, downtown Alexandria, to demonstrate. Many carried banners. This church was the location where Noshi Atta Girgis had been stabbed to death. Some sources, such as the Jordan Times and Iran Daily, claim Mr Girgis was aged 78.
According to the interior ministry, the man who had stabbed the man to death had been a former government employee who had been fired for mental instability. His name is Mahmoud Salaheddin Abdul Razek. The ministry claimed that the killer had acted out of revenge for the Danish cartoons of the "prophet" Mohammed.
The demonstration (pictured above left) at All Saints/Al-Quidissin church began fairly peacefully after the Sunday service, but a group of about 200 young people had broken through the cordon which had been erected in front of the church by about 2,000 riot police. The youths were carrying wooden crosses, clubs and machetes (pictured right).
Most of the young rioters were aged between 12 and 25. One boy, aged about 12, was witnessed being repeatedly beaten by police. The violence began with stones and bottles being tossed by Coptic Christians, from within the police cordon. From balconies of buildings, Molotov cocktails were being thrown.
Later, a large mob of Muslims charged the police cordon, and in the ensuing chaos, at least 43 people were injured, and 50 people were arrested. Injured individuals included Muslims and Christians.
The situation appears to have been brought to a close when police fired live ammunition into the air, and used tear gas to scatter protesters.
According to police, the Alexandria Governor, Mohammad Abdel Salam Mahgoub, together with the Muslim Brotherhood and local politicians were attempting to defuse the tensions between the two communities.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at April 16, 2006 6:53 PM
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