CAIRO (Reuters)
Fifteen people were injured and 35 detained after clashes between Muslim and Christian villagers in central Egypt on Friday, police sources said.
The clashes began as a dispute over a piece of land between the villages of Maabda and Gabal el-Teir after a rumor that a monastery was planning to annex the land, the sources said.
The two sides, divided on sectarian lines, threw stones and scuffled until riot police intervened to stop them, they added.
The incident took place 210 km (130 miles) south of Cairo, near the town of Samalut in Minya province.
Christians account for up to 10 percent of the population of Egypt and relations between them and the Muslim majority are usually harmonious. Disputes, most commonly over land, religious buildings or young women, sometimes lead to violence. |
