An incidence of sectarian-driven violence was reported in Egypt, as Muslims attacked Coptic Christians in the early hours of Sunday following accounts of Christians harassing Muslim women, local authorities said.
The clashes led to the damage of 13 shops and several vehicles in the town of Esna in Qenna province, 650 kilometres south of Cairo. Shortly following the early morning clashes, a curfew was imposed and security was beefed up in and around the town.
The entrances of the town were also sealed off and places of worship were surrounded by security troops and metal cordons. Muslims in the town claimed that a group of Christians had a week earlier dragged a Muslim girl into a pharmacy and attempted to sexually assault her.
Other Muslims claimed that some Christians had also tried to forcefully remove the veil of a Muslim woman in the main bus station in Esna.
The Muslims said that these incidents incited their anger. Tensions have been simmering since the account of sexual assault surfaced last week, according to observers.
Apparently in response, a group of Muslim youth entered the local church of the Virgin Mary by force, breaking the door and pelting its glass windows with rocks, according to police sources. Fifteen people were arrested in this incident.
The Muslims also attacked Christian property, torching several stores and vehicles after dawn. The attacks had continued for a few hours, according to the police.
Muslims and Christians have a history of violence in Egypt, where rising tensions between followers of the two religions has often led to bloody clashes, with churches and private property being vandalised.
Clashes are often reported in the suburbs of southern Egypt, once the hotbed of religious extremist groups in the 1990s. Coptic Christians have long been complaining about several forms of discrimination, including difficulties in building and renovating places of worship, difficulties when converting from Islam to Christianity, harassment in public offices and unequal opportunities in the workplace.