MENA: Sectarian clashes in Minya contained by security forces
Security forces contained clashes that took place late Saturday in the Minya village of Bani Ahmad between Muslims and Copts, state news agency MENA reported. Around 15 people were left injured, it said.
The clashes reportedly started with a verbal spat between two people in a café, then escalated into a fight. People on both sides were injured, as well as an assistant detective and three soldiers.
Police and Central Security Forces headed to the Coptic-majority village to contain the clashes in which rocks were thrown, gunfire exchanged, and one person was stabbed with a pocket knife. Security forces responded with huge amounts of tear gas to get the clashes under control, and three houses were engulfed in flames.
Assistant Detective Ahmad Al-Sawi received birdshot wounds to his left hand while intervening to separate the two sides. Three other soldiers were injured: Essam Nemr Mohammad (a 21-year-old CSF conscript) had burns, while Ali Assran Mohammad and Mohammad Anwar Abouel Wafa (both 22-year-old CSF conscripts) suffocated.
Minya has recently become a hub of sectarian tension, particularly after former President Mohamed Morsi’s ouster on July 3. Last month, a group of pro-Morsi supporters allegedly attacked a building affiliated with a Coptic church.
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