EGYPT: Police fired live ammunition into the air and lobbed tear gas into rioting crowds of Christians and Muslims yesterday in a third day of sectarian violence in Egypt's second-largest city.
One Muslim in Alexandria reportedly died of wounds suffered on Saturday and dozens more were wounded and arrested.
The violence was prompted by knife attacks that killed a 78-year-old man and wounded as many as 16 people at three Coptic Christian churches in Alexandria on Friday. Further violence flared after the funeral of Nushi Atta Girgisat (78) on Saturday.
Yesterday police fought back against Coptic Christians who were surrounded by a security cordon around the Saints Church after the mob began hurling stones and bottles from inside the police line and fellow demonstrators tossed Molotov cocktails from the balconies of nearby buildings.
Police could be seen repeatedly beating a boy of about 12, who was among the crowd of Coptic young people who fled into the church, slamming the doors behind them, or ran down narrow streets surrounding the church. Most of the protesters were between ages 12 and 25.
Later, a huge mob of what appeared to be Muslim protesters charged the police cordon from the other side.
Mustafa Mohammed Mustafa, a Muslim Brotherhood parliamentarian, said a 24-year-old Muslim died early yesterday of wounds from a beating by Christians during rioting on Saturday.
The Christian protesters behind the police cordon repeatedly surged against it from the front of the church and by late afternoon were hurling rocks and bottles at security troops as others tossed firebombs from surrounding apartment balconies.
Earlier yesterday, police said 43 people had been wounded in clashes near the church and 50 others were arrested, as religious leaders and politicians sought to ease sectarian tensions in the aftermath of a series of weekend attacks on Coptic churches.
About 2,000 riot police had cordoned the front of the Saints Church yesterday, but were unable to prevent the late-afternoon melee by some 200 young men who had been milling around the church grounds after services ended. They carried wooden crosses, clubs and machetes.
Officials said more security forces had been sent to the city.
Police said Alexandria governor Mohammad Abdel Salam Mahgoub and local politicians were trying to calm the situation.
Coptic Christians make up 10 per cent of Egypt's 73 million population and generally live in peace with the Muslim majority, though occasional sectarian clashes have occurred.
Most recently, Muslim militants attacked churches in the Moharrem Bek area of Alexandria, protesting against the distribution of a DVD that they deemed offensive to Islam. Four people were killed in week-long riots.