Egypt’s military warned on Thursday it will strike down sectarianism, as Muslims and Christians prepared to hold a unity rally denouncing attacks on Cairo churches. The military, in power since president Hosni Mubarak’s overthrow in February, struggled to contain the violent clashes on Saturday that left 15 people dead, according to the official human rights council. The mob attacks, which left a church in flames, drove the country’s precarious religious tensions to the brink and led to several days of protests by Coptic Christians.
“The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces warned of the dangers facing Egypt through sectarian discord, affirming that this is a red line,” the official MENA news agency quoted a military spokesman as saying. “Anyone who toys with this area will be struck down with an iron hand,” he was quoted as saying. Activists are calling on the country’s Christians and Muslims to come out on Friday to denounce sectarian divisions.