Egyptian PM calls for calm after Cairo clashes

Egyptian PM calls for calm after Cairo clashes

The Prime Minister of Egypt, Essam Sharaf has appealed for calm in the country after 24 people have died in a clash between Coptic Christians and security forces.

The PM said conflict between Muslims and Christians in Egypt was "a threat to the country's security".

The Clash

The violence broke out after a protest in Cairo against an attack on a church in Aswan province last week, with Muslims joining in on both sides.

The Copts say they were marching peacefully when thugs attacked them; drawing in the military police that used what activists described as unnecessary force.

Damage

According to security sources the demonstrators, who were protesting the destruction of a church in southern Egypt, torched two armoured vehicles, six private cars and a public bus.

Reports say the clash however escalated from outside the television building to nearby Tahrir Square and the area around it, drawing in thousands of people.

Consequently, they battled each other with stones and firebombs, some tearing up pavements and collecting stones in boxes for use as missiles.

At one point, a group of youths with at least one riot policeman among them dragged a protester by his legs for a long distance.

The health ministry said more than 200 people were injured.

The death toll in these clashes was the highest seen in years.

Checking the situation

Egypt's leadership had already held an emergency meeting late on Sunday to discuss the situation, with clashes also reported in Alexandria, Egypt's second city.

Scores of suspected assailants were arrested in the aftermath.

Addressing the issues, Sharaf called for calm, describing the events as "unnecessary violence" and a "conspiracy".

His cabinet said in a statement that it would "not let any group manipulate the issue of national unity in Egypt or delay the process of democratic transformation" which it said would begin with opening the doors to candidate nominations.

BBC/ Aljazeera/ Adekusibe/Ekata