(Personal Note: And so it begins. I truly pray that the Egyptian people do not allow their revolution to be manipulated by Islamists and thugs as the Iranian Revolution and the Algerian Revolt against the French were hijacked.)
CAIRO – Clashes between Muslims and Christian in the Egyptian capital killed at least six people, security and hospital officials said Wednesday.
They said the clashes took place late Tuesday night and lasted several hours. The fighting involved the use of guns, clubs and knifes, they added. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The clashes began when several thousand Christians protested against the burning last week of a church in a Cairo suburb by a Muslim mob following a deadly clash between Muslims and Christians over a love affair between a Muslim and a Christian.
The Christian protesters on Tuesday blocked a vital highway, burning tires and pelting cars with rocks.
An angry crowd of Muslims set upon the Christians and the two sides fought pitched battles for about four hours. The six killed were believed to be mostly Christians who died of gunshot wounds.
Even before Egypt's uprising unleashed a torrent of discontent, tensions had been growing between Christians and Muslims in this country of 80 million.
On New Year's Day, a suicide bombing outside a Coptic church in the port city of Alexandria killed 21 people, setting off days of protests. Barely a week later, an off-duty policeman boarded a train and shot dead a 71-year-old Christian man and wounding his wife and four others.
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