Egyptian Christian killed by Muslim neighbour: security official
A Coptic Christian youth has been stabbed to death by a Muslim neighbour in southern Egypt, the latest violent incident between members of the two faiths, a security source said on Friday.
Milad Ibrahim Farag, 20, was attacked overnight in the village of Dafash by Khamis Eid Abdel Halim, 21, and died on route to hospital, the source said.
When news of the killing spread, dozens of youth from the predominantly Christian village went on the rampage, throwing rocks at police cars and injuring three policemen.
There were further violent incidents Friday afternoon, after Farag's body was turned over to his family for burial. Police dispersed some 300 people and remained deployed in case of further outbreaks.
There were conflicting stories about what led to the killing.
One report said the two young men had argued over a piece of land, but another said Abdel Halim, who was recently married, had accused his neighbour of spying on him and his wife.
Last Saturday, a Muslim man was killed and four Coptic Christians, including two monks, were injured when a land dispute involving a historic monastery turned violent.
Khalil Ibrahim Mohammed, a Muslim resident of a town neighbouring the Abu Fana Monastery near the southern city of Minya, was killed during clashes with Christians, the official said.
Two Coptic Christian workers at the monastery were shot and hospitalised in serious condition and two monks suffered injuries in the same incident.
The clashes broke out after the monastery began building a wall around neighbouring property after receiving final approval earlier this year.
Muslims residents of the area claim the farmland on which the wall is being built as theirs, and say the wall damages their vital crops.
Egypt's Copts -- the largest Christian community in the Middle East -- account for an estimated six to 10 percent of the country's 76 million inhabitants and complain of systematic discrimination and harassment.
Tensions often run high between Egypt's Muslim and Christian communities in an increasingly religious society dominated by Sunni Muslims