Muslims attack Christians in Egypt’s south

Villagers attack stores around church as they search for ‘abducted’ college girl

Egypt Uprising solidarity protest in Melbourne, February  2011 (photo credit: CC-BY-SA Takver/Flickr)
Egypt Uprising solidarity protest in Melbourne, February 2011 (photo credit: CC-BY-SA Takver/Flickr)

ASSIUT, Egypt (AP) — Hundreds of Muslim villagers in Egypt’s south have attacked Christian-owned stores in search of a girl whose family claims was abducted.

The villagers assaulted the stores Tuesday and surrounded two churches in the city of al-Wasta in Bani Suef province in Egypt’s south. Security forces guarded the churches. No casualties were reported.

The college-aged girl disappeared around one month ago. The crowd accused local Christian of kidnapping her.

Bani Suef’s prosecutor, Hamdi Farouk, said there was no reason to believe Christians were involved in her disappearance.

Security chief Ibrahim Hudeib said the girl left her house with her gold and passport in hand and may have fled with a local Muslim boy.

Past clashes have been sparked by rumors of conversion, Muslim-Christian love affairs and the construction of churches.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

Most Popular
read more:
If you’d like to comment, join
The Times of Israel Community.
Join The Times of Israel Community
Commenting is available for paying members of The Times of Israel Community only. Please join our Community to comment and enjoy other Community benefits.
Please use the following structure: example@domain.com
Confirm Mail
Thank you! Now check your email
You are now a member of The Times of Israel Community! We sent you an email with a login link to . Once you're set up, you can start enjoying Community benefits and commenting.