By Dalia Rabie and Tamim Elyan
CAIRO/ALEXANDRIA: Thousands of protesters demonstrated in front of the state-TV building blocking the road and hundreds protested in front of the Alexandria Library on Sunday to condemn the previous night’s sectarian clashes in Imbaba, which left at least 12 dead.
Clashes erupted in Cairo when a march heading towards the state-TV building protest was attacked. Eyewitnesses said told Daily News Egypt that residents of the area attacked the protesters on a side street.
Shops at the Ramses Hilton Trade Center were smashed when DNE reporter arrived at the scene. Many of the protesters were lightly injured while one man was on the ground suffering from what appeared to be severe injuries.
Muslim and Christian protesters gathered in front of Cairo’s High Court ahead of a march for national unity in the center of the city when they were pelted with stones by dozens of men from a nearby neighborhood. A security official described them as “neighborhood thugs.”
The two groups clashed, throwing stones and rocks at each other before dispersing. The protesters regrouped outside state television’s headquarters, where their numbers began to swell.
Father Flipoteer told DNE that it was an open-ended sit-in without demands aimed at mourning the victims in Imbaba.
Cairo protesters chanted against the army, claiming its inaction was complacency in the attack on the church.
In Alexandria, protesters held banners against Defense Minister Field Marshal Hussien Tantawi, condemning what they call the weakness of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) in fighting sectarianism. Others chanted for unity between Muslims and Copts.
“We are here because I think the revolution is being hijacked and I want to express my anger towards the violence that happened in Imbaba,” said Emad Karam, a teacher.
“Where is the spirit of Tahrir when Muslims and Copts were protecting each other? Is it a counter revolution by the old regime or the army is unwilling to protect the revolution?” he added.
Karam called for trying whoever involved in those events.
Clashes erupted late Saturday in Imbaba after a rumor that a Christian woman who converted to Islam was being held inside Marimina Church. The fatal confrontation between Muslims and Christians left more than 230 injured and one church ablaze.
“We want to build the country not to make it collapse. All this violence erupted based on a rumor. We want the army to protect all Egyptians, not Muslims only,” said Samy Lotfi. –Additional reporting by AFP.
