Clashes over Christian protests in Egypt leave 19 dead

In rioting outside the state television building alongside the Nile, witnesses said some of the protesters may have snatched weapons from the soldiers and turned them on the military.

The protesters were also said to have pelted the Egyptian 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 paving 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 peacefully at the television building. But they said they came under attack from thugs in plain clothes.

“The protest was peaceful. We wanted to hold a sit-in, as usual,” said Essam Khalili, a protester in 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.”

Wael Roufail, another protester, said: “I saw the vehicle running over the protesters. Then they opened fired at us.”

Khalili said protesters set fire to army vehicles when they saw them hitting the protesters.

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.

Christians blame Egypt’s ruling military council for being too lenient on those behind a spate of anti-Christian attacks since the ousting of Hosni Mubarak in February. As Egypt undergoes a chaotic power transition in the wake of this year’s uprising, minority Christians are worried about the increasing show of force by the ultra-conservative Islamists.

Yesterday’s rally began in the Shubra district of northern Cairo, then headed to the state television building along the Nile where men in plainclothes attacked about a thousand Christian protesters as they chanted denunciations of Egypt’s military rulers.

In the past weeks, riots have broken out at two churches in southern Egypt, prompted by Muslim crowds angry over church construction. Near the city of Aswan, church officials agreed that a cross and bells be removed.