Egypt: Clashes outside Copt cathedral leave 1 dead
AYA BATRAWY, Associated Press, By AYA BATRAWY and SARAH EL DEEB, Associated Press
Several burned cars belonging to Egyptian Christians remain in the street after clashes between Muslims and Christians in Qalubiya, just outside Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, April 6, 2013. Several Egyptians including 4 Christians and a Muslim were killed in sectarian clashes before dawn on Saturday, security officials said. A picture of the late Coptic Pope Shenouda is seen at end of street. EGYPT OUT Photo: Mohammed Nouhan, El Shorouk Newspaper
Several burned cars belonging to Egyptian Christians remain in the...
CAIRO (AP) — Christians angered by the killing of four Christians in weekend sectarian violence clashed Sunday with a mob throwing rocks and firebombs, killing one and turning Cairo's main Coptic cathedral into a battleground.
The clashes raised tempers in an already tense political atmosphere, as workers shut down the country's trains in a strike over wages and a dispute over the nation's chief prosecutor entered a new phase — all signs of two years of unending turmoil.
Reacting to Sunday's violence, the Muslim Brotherhood's political party blamed "dubious" attempts by unnamed parties to broaden instability in Egypt by igniting sectarian violence and spreading chaos.
A liberal opposition group, the Popular Current, said the clashes were symptomatic of the failure of the state to protect its citizens, calling on Islamist President Mohammed Morsi and his government to resign.
Morsi said in a statement late Sunday that he spoke to Pope Tawadros II by phone. He gave orders to authorities to guard the cathedral and citizens in the area, adding that protecting the lives of Muslims and Christians was a state responsibility.
"I consider any attack on the cathedral as an attack on me, personally," he said, according to the statement from his office.
The clashes at the St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Cathedral began just after hundreds of angry Christians left the complex to stage an anti-government march following the funeral for the four Christians killed in sectarian clashes Saturday.
A mob, described by witnesses as residents of the area, pelted them with rocks and firebombs and fired birdshot, forcing them back inside the complex. Few police were present.
By the time police arrived in larger numbers, the church was the scene of clashes between those locked inside and the mob outside, as the two sides exchanged rocks and firebombs. Police fired tear gas, and gas canisters landing inside church grounds caused a panic among women and children. People outside the church cheered.
Tawadros was not in the cathedral, his headquarters, during the funeral and the violence that followed. In a statement carried by the state news agency, said he was "regretful" of the violence and called for calm.
"There was no security outside the church for such a large funeral," said Emad Thabet, a Coptic Christian who was among those locked up in the church for hours. "There is no such thing as Egyptians in Egypt. There are only Muslims and Christians," he said. Copts have complained for decades that the Christian minority suffers from discrimination.
Coptic Christians make up about 10 percent of Egypt's estimated 90 million people. Attacks against Christians have increased since the ouster two years ago of autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
The clashes took place alongside a development in another of Egypt's many crises — questions surrounding the legitimacy of the country's top prosecutor. On Sunday, Egypt's highest judicial body urged him to step down less than five months after Morsi appointed him. A few days earlier, a court ruling declared his appointment void.
The statement from the Supreme Judiciary Council urged the chief prosecutor, Talaat Abdullah, "to express a wish" to return to his previous job as a judge for the sake of the unity of the judiciary.
There was no immediate comment from Abdullah. Officials in his office and in the government indicated before that he will appeal the court decision.
Abdullah's appointment in December set off demonstrations and protests by judges and fellow prosecutors. The protests forced him to tender his resignation, but then he withdrew it and stayed in office.
Removing Abdullah has been a key demand of the mostly liberal and secular opposition. Sunday's call by the council of the judiciary appeared aimed at offering him an honorable exit, a step toward ending the long-running crisis within the judiciary over the appointment.
During the past two weeks, Abdullah has issued summons against several media celebrities critical of Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected president. They included popular TV satirist Bassem Youssef, who was accused of insulting Morsi and Islam. The satirist was released on bail.
Alongside the sectarian and legal issues, the overriding economic crisis flared as Egypt's railway services came to a halt Sunday because of a strike by train drivers and conductors demanding better pay. The strike snarled inter-city transit, and thousands of angry passengers crowded train stations.
The most immediate issue was the specter of sectarian violence increasing and spreading to the rest of the country.
Sunday's clashes grew out of Khossous, a town north of Cairo, where five people, including a Muslim, were killed a day earlier. Renewed clashes erupted there later Sunday outside the local church, leaving 12 residents and one police officer injured.
At the cathedral on Sunday, witness Ibrahim Elsherif said the clashes began when angry Coptic protesters tried to stop traffic for an anti-government march. A street brawl turned quickly into an attack by local residents, who pelted the protesters with rocks from the roofs of nearby buildings, throwing firebombs and firing birdshot, he said. Some protesters smashed parked cars.
One Coptic Christian was killed in the violence, and at least 66 people were wounded, the Health Ministry said. Two local journalists were among those injured, one seriously, according to their newspapers.
Video aired live on the private ONTV network showed young men on the roof of a building next to the cathedral firing handguns toward the compound.
Inside the cathedral, several thousand mourners chanted slogans against Morsi, calling on the Egyptian leader to step down. They shouted "Leave!" and "This is our country, we will not leave."
A protester throws away a tear gas canister fired by security forces in downtown Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, April 6, 2013. Police fired tear gas at hundreds of protesters outside the chief prosecutor's office Saturday in central Cairo after they tried to push on the building's doors demanding he resign. Photo: AP
A protester throws away a tear gas canister fired by security...
Members of Egypt's April 6 Youth Movement shout anti-Muslim Brotherhood slogans and light flares during a rally in front of the prosecutor general's office in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, April 6, 2013. Thousands of activists took to the streets Saturday to mark the fifth anniversary of the founding of a leading opposition group, the April 6 Youth Movement, and to push a long list of demands on Morsi, including the formation of a more inclusive government amid a worsening economy. Photo: AP
Members of Egypt's April 6 Youth Movement shout anti-Muslim...
Members of Egypt's April 6 Youth Movement shout anti-Muslim Brotherhood slogans during a rally in front of the prosecutor general's office in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, April 6, 2013. Arabic reads, "people demand the regime to step down." Thousands of activists took to the streets Saturday to mark the fifth anniversary of the founding of a leading opposition group, the April 6 Youth Movement, and to push a long list of demands, including the formation of a more inclusive government amid a worsening economy. Photo: Amr Nabil
Members of Egypt's April 6 Youth Movement shout anti-Muslim...
Tear gas fills downtown as protesters clash with security forces in downtown Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, April 6, 2013. Police fired tear gas at hundreds of protesters outside the chief prosecutor's office Saturday in central Cairo who were pushing on the building's doors demanding he resign. Photo: AP
Tear gas fills downtown as protesters clash with security forces in...
Members of Egypt's April 6 Youth Movement shout anti-Muslim Brotherhood slogans and light flares during a rally in front of the prosecutor general's office in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, April 6, 2013. Thousands of activists took to the streets Saturday to mark the fifth anniversary of the founding of a leading opposition group, the April 6 Youth Movement, and to push a long list of demands on Morsi, including the formation of a more inclusive government amid a worsening economy. Photo: AP
Members of Egypt's April 6 Youth Movement shout anti-Muslim...
Egyptian Samir Mancy, 60, holds a red card with Arabic reading, "Morsi step down", during a rally in front of the general prosecutor's office in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, April 6, 2013. Arabic on the hat reads, "I'm hungry." Thousands of activists took to the streets Saturday to mark the fifth anniversary of the founding of a leading opposition group, the April 6 Youth Movement, and to push a long list of demands, including the formation of a more inclusive government amid a worsening economy. Photo: Amr Nabil
Egyptian Samir Mancy, 60, holds a red card with Arabic reading,...
Members of Egypt's April 6 Youth Movement shout anti-Muslim Brotherhood slogans during a rally in front of the prosecutor general's office in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, April 6, 2013. Arabic reads, "people demand the regime to step down." Thousands of activists took to the streets Saturday to mark the fifth anniversary of the founding of a leading opposition group, the April 6 Youth Movement, and to push a long list of demands, including the formation of a more inclusive government amid a worsening economy. Photo: Amr Nabil
Members of Egypt's April 6 Youth Movement shout anti-Muslim...
Egyptian Christians four coffins during a funeral service, at the Saint Mark Coptic cathedral in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, April 7, 2013. Several Egyptians including 4 Christians and a Muslim were killed in sectarian clashes before dawn in Qalubiya, just outside of Cairo on Saturday, April 6, 2013. Photo: Amr Nabil
Egyptian Christians four coffins during a funeral service, at the...
Egyptian Christians carry the coffin of Morqos Kamal, at the Saint Mark Coptic cathedral in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, April 7, 2013. Several Egyptians including 4 Christians and a Muslim were killed in sectarian clashes before dawn in Qalubiya, just outside of Cairo on Saturday, April 6, 2013. Photo: Amr Nabil
Egyptian Christians carry the coffin of Morqos Kamal, at the Saint...
An Egyptian Christian holds a cross during a funeral service at the Saint Mark Coptic cathedral in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, April 7, 2013. Several Egyptians including 4 Christians and a Muslim were killed in sectarian clashes before dawn in Qalubiya, just outside of Cairo on Saturday, April 6, 2013. Photo: Amr Nabil
An Egyptian Christian holds a cross during a funeral service at the...
Egyptian Christian women pray during a funeral service at the Saint Mark Coptic cathedral in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, April 7, 2013. Several Egyptians including 4 Christians and a Muslim were killed in sectarian clashes before dawn in Qalubiya, just outside of Cairo on Saturday, April 6, 2013. Photo: Amr Nabil
Egyptian Christian women pray during a funeral service at the Saint...
Egyptian Christians chant anti-Muslim Brotherhood slogans following a funeral service at the Saint Mark Coptic cathedral in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, April 7, 2013. Several Egyptians including 4 Christians and a Muslim were killed in sectarian clashes before dawn in Qalubiya, just outside of Cairo on Saturday, April 6, 2013. Photo: Amr Nabil
Egyptian Christians chant anti-Muslim Brotherhood slogans following...
Egyptian Christians carry the coffin of Morqos Kamal, at the Saint Mark Coptic cathedral in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, April 7, 2013. Several Egyptians including 4 Christians and a Muslim were killed in sectarian clashes before dawn in Qalubiya, just outside of Cairo on Saturday, April 6, 2013. Photo: Amr Nabil
Egyptian Christians carry the coffin of Morqos Kamal, at the Saint...
FILE -- In this Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012 file photo, Egyptian Prosecutor General, Talaat Abdullah, sits at his desk on his first day in office after being appointed by President Mohammed Morsi, in Cairo, Egypt. Egypt’s highest judicial body on Sunday, April 7, 2013, urged the country’s top prosecutor to step down and return to his previous job as a judge for the sake of the unity of the judiciary. Abdullah’s appointment was decried as illegal by many judges and fellow prosecutors. Photo: Mohammed Asad
FILE -- In this Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012 file photo, Egyptian...
Egyptian Christians grieve during a funeral service at the Saint Mark Coptic cathedral in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, April 7, 2013. Several Egyptians including 4 Christians and a Muslim were killed in sectarian clashes before dawn in Qalubiya, just outside of Cairo on Saturday, April 6, 2013. Photo: Amr Nabil
Egyptian Christians grieve during a funeral service at the Saint...
Egyptian Christians chant anti-Muslim Brotherhood slogans during a funeral service, at the Saint Mark Coptic cathedral in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, April 7, 2013. Several Egyptians including 4 Christians and a Muslim were killed in sectarian clashes before dawn in Qalubiya, just outside of Cairo on Saturday, April 6, 2013. Photo: Amr Nabil
Egyptian Christians chant anti-Muslim Brotherhood slogans during a...
Egyptian Christians gather around four coffins during a funeral service, at the Saint Mark Coptic cathedral in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, April 7, 2013. Several Egyptians including 4 Christians and a Muslim were killed in sectarian clashes before dawn in Qalubiya, just outside of Cairo on Saturday, April 6, 2013. Photo: Amr Nabil
Egyptian Christians gather around four coffins during a funeral...
FILE - In this Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2011 file photo, the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak sits during his meeting with Emirates foreign minister, not pictured, at the Presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt. Egypt’s state news agency says the country’s top prosecutor has ordered ousted President Hosni Mubarak be detained for 15 days pending investigation into a new case of corruption by him and his family for pocketing state funds slated for the presidential palaces. Mubarak, 84, in detention since April 2011, is currently held in a military hospital because of health issues. Photo: Amr Nabil
FILE - In this Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2011 file photo, the Egyptian...
A tear gas canister is fired by Egyptian riot police into the compound of the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral after the funeral of four Christians killed in sectarian clashes near Cairo over the weekend in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, April 7, 2013. Attacks against Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt’s estimated 90 million people, have increased since President Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood came to power last year. Photo: Mostafa El Shemy
A tear gas canister is fired by Egyptian riot police into the...