• 13:19
  • Monday ,13 August 2012
العربية

Coptic Group Postpones Protest after Some Christians Return to Dahshour

By Ahram Online

Copts and Poliltical Islam

00:08

Monday ,13 August 2012

Coptic Group Postpones Protest after Some Christians Return to Dahshour

The Maspero Youth Union, a group which defends equal rights for Egypt's Christian citizens, decided Saturday to postpone plans for a march for the following day to protest assaults on Copts in Dahshour village, in Cairo's Giza governorate.

The decision comes a few days after reports that 36 Coptic families had returned to their homes in Dahshour after they were allegedly forced to leave.
 
The union's statement reads: "We will put the march on hold and see if some of the demands concerning the matter are fulfilled. Most of the families that were forced to leave must return, and each family the LE10,000 promised as compensation for the damages they incurred."
 
The clashes in Dahshour erupted on the first of August following a quarrel between a Muslim and a Copt earlier in the week, drawing in residents from both communities. The clashes that ensued left one Muslim resident dead and several Muslims and Christians injured.
 
Several houses belonging to Christian residents in addition to two businesses in the town were burned down by angry crowds. Hundreds fled their homes.
 
Several protests have since taken place, including one staged by the Maspero Youth Union when the clashes broke out outside the presidential palace.