16 Egyptians injured in sectarian clashes

Sixteen people have been injured in clashes between Copts and Muslims in the governorate of Mersa Matruh, northwestern Egypt.

Anonymous security sources said Saturday that 13 Egyptian Copts and three Muslims were injured in clashes in the suburbs of Mersa Matruh while some workers were building a fence to annex a piece of land owned by a Copt to a neighboring church, but the fence blocked a path for local residents between the two lands.

According to the state-run Middle East News Agency (MENA), security authorities imposed tight measures in the area to prevent the renewal of clashes, while the injured people were moved to the hospitals.

Meanwhile, Director of Mersa Matruh Security Services Hussein Fekri said calm has been restored in the area and the situation has been put under control.

Matruh governor Ahmed Hussein has contacted on Saturday the church pastor, Begimi, and asked him to bulldoze the fence which sparked the incidents, MENA reported.

The pastor responded immediately and made directives to demolish the controversial fence.

Egypt has witnessed repeated clashes between Muslims and Copts in recent years over building new churches or expanding existing ones; most were in southern areas.

The Egyptian law stipulates taking permission from the governor before carrying out any expansions or renovating any of the churches nationwide.

Source:Xinhua