Deadly Violence Erupts in Cairo

Violence has broken out in Cairo, with clashes between protestors and security forces in central Cairo leaving 24 dead and more than 200 injured, raising new concerns about Egypt’s security and stability ahead of parliamentary elections.

A demonstration by Christians angry about a recent attack on a church marked off a night of violent protests against the military council now ruling Egypt, in the worse spasm of violence since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak in February.

Violence has broken out in Cairo, with clashes between protestors and security forces in central Cairo leaving 24 dead and more than 200 injured, raising new concerns about Egypt’s security and stability ahead of parliamentary elections.

A demonstration by Christians angry about a recent attack on a church marked off a night of violent protests against the military council now ruling Egypt, in the worse spasm of violence since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak in February.

According to reports from government sources, demonstrators outside the state television station began firing on soldiers patrolling the area. Two soldiers were reported dead, and 25 soldiers injured. Following the violence, a curfew was imposed in downtown Cairo from 2 a.m. (0000GMT) to 7a.m (0500 GMT).

The sectarian protest appeared to catch fire because it was aimed squarely at the military council that has ruled Egypt since the revolution, at a moment when the military’s latest delay in turning over power has led to a spike in public distrust of its authority.

When the clashes broke out, some Muslims ran into the streets to help defend the Christians against the police, while others said they had come out to help the army quell the protests in the name of stability, turning what started as a march about a church into a chaotic battle over military rule and Egypt’s future.

Nada el-Shazly, 27, who was wearing a surgical mask to deflect the tear gas, told the New York Times she came out because she heard state television urge “honest Egyptians” to turn out to protect the soldiers from Christian protesters, even though she knew some of her fellow Muslims had marched with the Christians to protest the military’s continued hold on power.

[quote]“Muslims get what is happening,” she said. The military, she said, was “trying to start a civil war.” [/quote]

Mubarak’s regime had failed to prosecute perpetrators of violence against Coptic Christians in a number of cases and failed to redress laws, particularly with respect to church construction and renovation, which discriminate against Christians, according to a U.S. State Department report on religious freedom.

[quote]”What is happening now is not clashes between Muslims and Christians but attempts to spark chaos and strife among the homeland sons,” Prime Minister Sharaf wrote on his Facebook page. “I call upon Egyptians to not respond to the calls for strife.” [/quote]

Watch a raw video footage of the violence, via AP: