Egypt rocked by sectarian violence in new regime
As Egypt approaches the anniversary of the protest movement that overthrew former president Hosni Mubarak, the country still finds itself torn by sectarian violence. On October 9, a demonstration in Cairo protesting an attack against a Coptic church in the Aswan province erupted into the worst violence since Mubarak's ouster in February. Two dozen people were killed and more than 200 wounded.
Coptic Christians, who constitute about 10 percent of Egypt's 80 million people, blamed the church attack on Muslim radicals. According to media reports, Egyptian troops, which accused the Cairo protesters of shooting at them, shot rubber bullets and tear gas into a crowd of thousands.
Demonstrators denied the charges and said the protest was a peaceful one, though some news reports said "thugs" bent on violence had fired at the soldiers.
