Egypt Muslims,Christians clash over prophet cartoon

The clashes saw several Christian homes burned and left 5 police officers injured.

Sectarian clashes broke out in the southern Egyptian province of Assiut after a Christian student posted a drawing of the Muslim prophet on the Internet,officials said today.

The clashes,which spread to three villages,saw several Christian homes burned and left five police officers injured,a security official told AFP.

On Thursday,dozens of Muslims tried to storm the home of the Christian student after the drawing appeared online.

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Police were called to the scene,arrested the student and formed a cordon around the house to prevent clashes,Assiut governor Abdelrahim Borei said.

But yesterday,a group of Muslims set fire to a shop owned by the student’s father in a nearby village and another group burned Christian homes in another neighbouring village and clashed with its residents.

Borei has called for an emergency meeting with political and church officials as well as with recently elected MPs and members of ultra-conservative Salafi Muslim groups to try to defuse tensions.

“The situation is now calm in the three villages. We have deployed police in the areas in order to maintain order,” Borei told state television.

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