Egyptian judicial source reported that Egypt's police on Saturday charged three men with premeditated murder over the shooting deaths of six Coptic Christians in a Christmas Eve attack
North Qena prosecutor has charged the three suspects with "premeditated murder, putting the life of citizens in danger and damage to public and private property," a judicial source said.
Police arrested the three on Friday after the shooting in the southern town of Nagaa Hammadi in which six Coptic Christians and one Muslim policeman were killed.
The alleged gunmen, all Muslims, raked pedestrians with gunfire along a stretch of road that houses two churches and many shops in an attack that sparked sectarian clashes in neighbouring villages.
On Saturday, police also announced the arrest of 20 Muslims and Christians in the neighbouring town of Bahgura, where Christian houses and shops had been set on fire the day before.
Wednesday's attack in Nagaa Hammadi was the deadliest since 20 Copts were killed in sectarian clashes in 2000, also in southern Egypt.
Copts, who account for up to 10 percent of Egypt's population of 80 million, complain or routine harassment and systematic discrimination.
In the capital on Saturday, around 600 people demonstrated against the sectarian clashes in the south, brandishing placards denouncing "the shocking silence of the authorities" and demanding "security for all Egyptians."
A judicial source said a group of Copts, Muslims and opposition Kefaya members had also filed an official complaint against the security services, accusing them of failing to protect religious buildings.
