Curfew Follows Muslim-Christian Violence in Egypt; 20 Reported Dead
An area of southern Egypt was under curfew Monday after a dispute between a Christian shopkeeper and a Muslim customer exploded into three days of religious violence that reportedly left 20 people dead.
Fires had been extinguished and security forces were said to have quelled gunfights and rioting, but tensions remained high.
Twenty people were killed in the village of El Kosheh, the Interior Ministry said in a statement distributed by Egypt’s Middle East News Agency. Coptic Bishop Wissa, whose parish includes villages hit by the unrest, said Monday that the victims, all Christians, died during rampages by Muslim protesters.
El Kosheh, 275 miles south of Cairo, gained international attention when Christian residents claimed widespread police brutality during a 1998 murder investigation. The case came to the attention of the U.S. Congress, and in March 1999, visiting First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton voiced concern to President Hosni Mubarak.
The weekend violence began Friday in El Kosheh. Later, unrest spread to nearby villages.
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