CAIRO (AFP) – Egypt’s military rulers ordered a speedy probe into clashes which killed 25 people, mostly Coptic Christians, as the Cabinet held crisis talks amid fears of wider sectarian unrest and Washington urged restraint.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) “tasked the government with quickly forming a fact finding committee to determine what happened”, in a statement read on state television.
It called for “all measures against all those proven to have been involved, either directly or by incitement”.
Both the ruling military council and the Cabinet held crisis talks, a day after the clashes in Cairo left 25 dead, most of them Copts, and more than 300 people injured, according to health ministry figures.
SCAF, which took power when president Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February, stressed it “continues to bear national responsibility to protect the people” until it hands over to an elected civilian authority.
Categories: Africa, Egypt, Human Rights, Law and Religion, Middle East