Egypt Christians protest in Cairo after church attack

Saturday’s violence started after several hundred conservative Salafist Muslims gathered outside the Coptic Saint Mena Church in Cairo’s Imbaba district.

They were reportedly protesting over the allegation that a Christian woman, named as Abeer, was being held there against her will because she had married a Muslim man and converted to Islam.

The calls for this protest followed the appearance on a Christian TV channel of Camilia Shehata, a woman who Islamists had claimed was also being held against her will after converting to Islam. She denied this in the TV interview.

Witnesses said the confrontation began with shouting between protesters, church guards and people living near the church.

Rival groups threw firebombs and stones, and gunfire was heard.

The church and one other, as well as some nearby homes, were set alight, and it took hours for the emergency services and the military to bring the situation under control.

Christian leaders have declared three days of mourning for those who died in Saturday’s violence.

On Sunday, hundreds gathered outside the main state television building, calling for the removal of Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, who leads Egypt’s ruling military council.

When they were met by a group of Muslims, fights again broke out and the two groups pelted each other with stones.

The Christian mourners have now gathered outside state television for a second day. The BBC’s Jonathan Head, in Cairo, says the protesters are angry with the army for failing to protect them.

Military authorities are promising tougher measures against anyone who attacks a place of worship, but such promise have been made before, to little effect, says our correspondent.

Egypt is experiencing a security vacuum since the departure of ousted President Hosni Mubarak, with the discredited police staying out of communal conflicts.

Hard-line Salafi Muslim groups were rarely seen in the days of Mubarak, but now they are now able to mount aggressive demonstrations against perceived threats to Islam, straining community relations, our correspondent says.