EGYPT - Christian protest turns deadly

Fierce clashes erupted yesterday between Christians protesting a recent attack on a church and the Egyptian military, leaving at least 19 people dead and more than 150 injured, health ministry officials said.

In rioting outside the state television building along the Nile in Cairo, witnesses said some of the protesters may have snatched weapons from the soldiers and turned them on the military. The protesters also pelted the soldiers with rocks and bottles.

The clashes spread to nearby Tahrir Square and the area around it, drawing in thousands of people.

They battled each other with rocks and firebombs, some tearing up pavement for ammunition and others collecting stones in boxes. 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 Christian protesters said their demonstration began as a peaceful attempt to sit in at the television building. But then, they said they came under attack by thugs in plainclothes who rained stones down on them and fired pellets.

"The protest was peaceful. We wanted to hold a sit-in, as usual," said Essam Khalili, a protester wearing a white shirt with a cross drawn on it. "Thugs attacked us and a military vehicle jumped over a sidewalk and ran over at least 10 people. I saw them."

Television footage of the riots showed some of the Coptic protesters attacking a soldier, while a priest tried to protect him. One soldier collapsed in tears as ambulances rushed to the scene to take away the injured.

Military council blamed

Christians blame Egypt's ruling military council for being too lenient on those behind a spate of antiChristian attacks since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak in February. Egypt's Coptic Christian minority makes up about 10 per cent of the country of more than 80 million people.

The clashes left streets littered with shattered glass, stones, ashes and soot from burned vehicles. Hundreds of curious onlookers gathered at one of the bridges over the Nile nearby to watch the unrest.

After hours of intense clashes, chants of "Muslims, Christians one hand, one hand" rang out, a call for a truce. The stone-throwing died down after that.

In the past weeks, riots have broken out at two churches in southern Egypt, prompted by Muslim crowds angry over church construction.