Muslim-Christian violence continues in Egypt

CAIRO (Reuters) — Muslims and Christians set fire to one another’s homes and shops near the southern Egyptian town of Nagaa Hamady on Saturday, three days after a gunman killed six Coptic Christians in drive-by shootings, security officers said.

“Four houses and a shop belonging to Christians in the village of Tiraks were set on fire by Muslims, while four shops owned by Muslims in the village of Al Bahgorah were set on fire by Christians,” a security official said. The villages are near Nagaa Hamady, about 40 miles north of the famed temples of Luxor.

Six people, Christian and Muslim, were injured in the fires, the security officials added.

The police have taken 46 statements from Muslims and Christians in the area accusing members of the other faith of attacking their houses and damaging their properties, the officials said.

The drive-by shootings in Nagaa Hamady took place around midnight on Wednesday, the Coptic Christmas Eve. Muslim and Christian groups held separate protests on Thursday and Friday.

The security official said the police had detained about 25 of the 2,000 protesters.

Three Muslims who are suspects in the shootings surrendered to the police on Friday.

The attackers first fired on a crowd in a shopping area near a church in Nagaa Hamady, killing two Christians. They then went to a nearby church and killed four more Christians, and also the church’s Muslim guard. Another nine Christians were wounded.

Police investigators in the city said two of the three assailants were distantly related to a Muslim girl who was rumored to have been raped by a Christian man more than a month ago.

Egypt’s government said the violence was not sectarian and was an isolated episode.

Christians account for about 10 percent of Egypt’s predominantly Muslim population of about 78 million. Sectarian violence is rare, but disputes over issues including land or women occasionally erupt.