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Egypt’s religious tensions erupt into violence
Reda Fahmi, a Coptic Christian from the southern town of Madamud near the historic city of Luxor, was ordered by a judge to give back land to Mohie Abul Magd, a Muslim, following a legal dispute between the two, the source said which then led to the violent clashes. Fahmi, along with family members and supporters then tried to reclaim the land by force, resulting in a clash between both parties in which six Muslims and seven Copts were injured.
Police and military personnel were called to the scene to end the violence. It was Egypt's fourth reported sectarian clash since Thursday. On Friday, fighting erupted between Muslims and Copts in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria following a row between a young Copt and the son of the imam of a local mosque.
On Thursday, several people were hurt and police arrested 13 Muslims and Copts, also in the northern city, while 35 people were arrested in sectarian clashes in the village of Saft Meydum, south of Cairo. Copts are estimated to form six to ten per cent of Egypt's 76 million people