CAIRO (CWNews.com) - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Wednesday blamed foreign subversion for religious violence that erupted in southern Egypt earlier this month.
Mubarak said the fighting between Coptic Christians and Muslims that left 23 people dead and 34 injured over three days starting December 31 was ignited by foreign forces attempting to destabilize Egypt. The conflict started in the village of el-Kusheh after an argument between a Christian shopkeeper and a Muslim customer.
Interior Minister Habib el-Adly was quoted Wednesday by the Middle East News Agency as saying "there are hidden hands in the el-Kusheh incidents ... and these hands are working toward escalating the situation." Neither el-Adly nor Mubarak elaborated on which foreign forces wanted to destabilize the country.
Catholic World News Service Daily News Briefs