Back Bloody Egypt, 23 killed

At least 23 people were killed and dozens more injured after violent clashes between security forces and demonstrators Egyptian Coptic Christians in the capital Cairo on Sunday evening local time. The security forces imposed a curfew then in Cairo, especially in Tahrir Square and downtown.
According to the news station Al Jazerra, clashes not only occur in Cairo, but also the second largest city in Egypt, Alexandria. Authorities on Sunday held an emergency meeting to discuss the riots.


Al Jazeera's correspondent said the demonstration was initially peaceful. The demonstrators were protesting at the slow action of the security forces attack a Coptic Christian church on 30 September in southern Egypt.
According to the news station Al Arabiya, a church that was attacked was located in the city Merinab, the province of Aswan. According to the attacker church groups, places of worship are considered unlicensed. Governor of Aswan, Mustafa al-Sayyed, also said that the Coptic Christian church building without prior permission from the authorities.
However, when the church held a demonstration for the attack, the protesters suddenly attacked by a herd of thugs. Not long after, the military police had come to attack the protesters.
"We were demonstrating peacefully," said Talaat Youssef, 23-year-old boy, who was quoted by Reuters news agency. "As we walked toward the television station building, the military started shooting at us with bullets," said Youssef. "Though they are supposed to protect us," he continued.
The situation finally got out of hand when the protesters to fight back. According to security forces, the demonstrators then set fire to two armored cars, six private cars and a bus.
In addition to implementing a curfew, the government asked all parties to restrain themselves. Prime Minister of Egypt, Essam Sharaf, said it had contacted the security and church officials to help control the situation.
"The only parties who benefit from this violence are the enemies of the Revolution in January and also the enemy of the people of Egypt, both Muslims and Christians," Sharaf said in a message through a personal account on Facebook pages. This is the biggest bloody riots in Egypt since Hosni Mubarak's regime was ousted in February.
Analysts say the unrest is a sign of government neglect inter-anticipated clash. "The absence of law enforcement to be the cause. Freedom of expression is the basis for a democratic society and rule of law," said Amr Hashim political pengamay Rabei told Al Arabiya.
"Conflicts like this when it was no longer the case for months. Coptic community leaders have asked the protesters to stand up and take legal action," continued Rabei.
Sectarian conflicts involving Muslims often occurs in Coptic Egypt. As the minority party - which only ten percent of the 80 million Egyptians, the Coptic community has repeatedly become the target of attack. They also repeatedly accused the authorities implement a systematic discrimination.