CAIRO (CWNews.com) - An Egyptian human rights group said today that fighting between Coptic Christians and Muslims last month had its roots in police brutality against Christians two years ago.
The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) said that in 1998 police investigating the murder of two Copts in the town of el-Kosheh detained more than 1,000 Christians, beating and torturing some. Government investigators cleared the officers involved.
"Some Copts had a residue of bitterness inside them from what happened in 1998 ... Those who had relatives hurt that time wanted revenge," Abdel-Aziz Mohammed, president of EOHR told a news conference. EOHR said 21 people were killed in the clashes in the village on January 2, 33 were wounded, and 81 buildings destroyed. The clashes were touched off by a dispute between a Muslim customer and a Christian shopkeeper on December 31.
Catholic World News Service - Daily News Briefs