CAIRO — Egypt has deployed extra police and troops to the central province of Minya after a dispute between a Christian and Muslim family sparked deadly sectarian clashes, a security official said.
A curfew has been imposed on the town of Abu Qorqas after a dispute between the two families over the building of a speed bump turned into clashes between the town’s Muslims and Christians that left two Muslims dead.
Furious Muslim residents then went on the rampage on Wednesday burning homes and shops owned by Coptic Christians.
“Calm has been restored in the town, but the situation remains tense,” the official said.
The violence in Minya comes as thousands of angry protesters in the neighbouring province of Qena continued to rally against the appointment of a Christian governor, in a region with a history of sectarian fighting and where relations between Muslims and Copts are fragile.
The incidents raised fears of widespread sectarian unrest, with Egypt’s Christian minority long complaining of discrimination.
In Qena, protesters blocked a vital north-south railway link and several main roads, saying they would not leave until governor Emad Mikhail– a senior police officer under the regime of ousted president Hosni Mubarak– is removed from his post.
In a firm statement, Egypt’s cabinet on Wednesday rejected calls to overturn Mikhail’s appointment, saying objections based on religion were “unacceptable.”
“The governor of Qena has not and will not resign and there are no alternatives. Objections (to someone) based on religion are unacceptable,” said cabinet spokesman Ahmed al-Saman.
Visits this week to Qena by officials, including the interior minister, failed to placate the protesters who have called for a massive protest on Friday.
Egypt’s Christians, who make up 10 percent of the 80-million population, have been the target of several attacks and have repeatedly accused the authorities of systematic discrimination.
On January 1, a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a church in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria as worshippers emerged from a New Year’s Eve mass, in an attack that left 23 people dead and scores wounded.
In 2010, six Copts were gunned down as they came out of a Christmas mass in the southern city of Naga Hammadi, which belongs to the Qena province, in an attack that also left one Muslim policeman dead.
