The death toll from clashes between Muslims and Christians in the Egyptian capital Cairo rose to 12, state television said on Sunday, as the country’s military rulers said 190 people detained overnight in connection with the clashes would face a military trial.
The clashes in the working class neighbourhood of Imbaba, in northwestern Cairo, on Saturday also left 232 injured, said the report quoting health ministry officials. Among those killed were four Christians and six Muslims, while the two other bodies were still unidentified.
The two groups clashed after Muslims attacked the Coptic Saint Mena church in Imbaba to free a Christian woman they alleged was being held against her will because she wanted to convert to Islam. Copts account for up to 10 percent of the country’s 80 million people. They complain of discrimination, and have been the targets of fairly regular sectarian attacks.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, in power since a popular uprising toppled president Hosni Mubarak in February, ordered “the transfer of all those arrested in connection with (Saturday’s) events, and they number 190, to the Supreme Military Court”.
