AzilSrbija AzilSrbija
On Friday, April the 5th, 2013., in town of Khusus first wave of religious conflicts between Christians and Muslims erupted causing death of five people.
Conflicts in Khusus, north of the capital of Cairo started on late Friday night, when a group of Christian children started drawing on the walls of a religious Muslim Institute. Apparently, the kids drew something on the wall that looked like a cross, which caused an insult to the Muslims.
In conflicts that broke out after that, one church was burned and the members of the two religious communities started to shoot at each other. Five people were killed – four Copts and one Muslim, eight people were wounded. Security sources said that Egyptian police have detained 15 people.
Burned house after the conflict of Muslims and Christians in Kususu on April 5th, 2013.
Egyptian state news agency MENA quoted the words of a Christian official who said that unknown attackers also invaded a local church in Khusus and burned parts of the church.
However, although the day after the riots the situation in Khusus was quiet, new religious conflicts started in downtown of Cairo on Sunday, 7th April. In the renewed conflict between Christian Copts and Muslims one person was killed, according to Egyptian officials.
New conflicts happened when several hundreds of angry Copts, after the funeral of four Copts who were killed in the violence two days ago, went through the streets of Cairo chanting “with our blood and our soul we will sacrifice for the cross.” Some of them chanted slogans in which were demanded departure of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and his movement Muslim Brothers.
A group of young Copts began to hit the police with stones, said an eyewitness.
The demonstrators have destroyed six parked cars and burned two, which caused the rapid reaction of Muslims living nearby, who responded by throwing stones on them.
The fighting lasted several hours, during which the Cathedral of St. Mark in Cairo was showered with rocks, firebombs and small caliber bullets.
Egyptian Copts try to put out the fire on their clothes after they were attacked
in front of the cathedral in Cairo on April 7th, 2013.
Police fired tear gas in an attempt to disperse the crowd, but conflicts lasted late into the night.
Egyptian state news agency MENA was initially reported that in these conflicts 17 persons were injured and showed clips in which police dispersed “mob” with tear gas. However, the day after clashes, information came from Caito that one person was killed, and the number of injured persons climbed to 84.
An official of the Ministry of Health of Egypt, Ahmed al-Ansari, said that one person, whose body is in the hospital Demerdas in Cairo, was killed during these conflicts. The victim was identified as 30-year-old Hannah Marus Tadros, which is a Christian name. Among the wounded there were also 11 police officers.
Office of the Egyptian President Morsi and senior Muslim leaders were initially condemned for the conflicts that occurred on Friday. Presidency of Egypt condemned this religious violence and urged to “all citizens to respect the law and refrain from behavior that threatens the stability and security of the country.”
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has also condemned yesterday’s violence and in a telephone conversation with the Coptic leader Tavadros II said that any attack on the cathedral is the same “as an attack on him personally.”
Otherwise, President Morsi, who was elected in June last year as the candidate of Muslim Brothers political movement, has pledged to protect the rights of Copts (Christians), which are 10% of the Egyptian 83 million people population.