Muslims and Christians in Al-Khosous have signed a petition to press for the release of local residents arrested after a recent bout of sectarian violence.

Fifteen suspects were arrested in Khosous Saturday in connection with the deadline sectarian clashes that rocked the town last week, according to the Interior Ministry.

While reflecting a deep societal malaise, sectarian violence in Egypt has always been associated with political power play, particularly between the ruling regimes and active Islamist groups.

The West Cairo Prosecution has ordered arrest of 10 people suspected of involvement in the violent clashes that broke out around St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral Sunday.

The Muslim Brotherhood and its political arm the Freedom and Justice Party are planning to meet with leaders from the Wasat Party, the Nour Party and the National Salvation Front to discuss a possible Cabinet reshuffle and the fate of Prosecutor General Talaat Abdallah.

Four days have passed since the violence that disrupted the town of Al-Khosous, home for Copts and Muslims in Egypt's governorate of Qalyubia who say they have never seen sectarian strife.

The Coptic Orthodox Church has identified five demands for President Mohamed Morsy to resolve the sectarian crises that have erupted in various parts of the country.

Presidential spokesperson Ihab Fahmy on Wednesday said that Assistant President for Foreign Affairs Essam al-Haddad’s statements on Facebook about the Coptic Cathedral incident was an account of events and did not accuse Christians of anything.

On Monday, Khairat El-Shater, the strong man of the Muslim Brotherhood, issued a statement on his Facebook page to discredit what he qualified as “rumours and fabricated documents.”

Wasat Party leader Abul-Ela Madi has repeated his claim that the intelligence service had approximately 300,000 'thugs' on its payroll during the Mubarak era.

Student members of the Salafist Raya Party, founded by Egypt's disqualified presidential candidate Hazem Salah Abou-Ismail, issued a statement Wednesday accusing the president of Al-Mansoura University of hiring thugs to use against protests on campus.

CAIRO, April 11 (Reuters) - When Egyptian Christian Kerollos Maher watched on television as petrol bombs and rocks rained on Cairo's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral he had only one thought - emigration.

A 21-year-old man died in a Cairo hospital Thursday after sustaining severe burns over the weekend amid fatal sectarian clashes in the Delta town of Khosous.

Some Sufi Orders fear that upcoming parliamentary elections may be rigged to favor the Muslim Brotherhood, claimed Essam Mohie, Liberation Party secretary general.

Egypt’s presidential spokesman says tourist flights from Iran were not suspended because of pressure from “any particular groups.”

The Qalyubiya Prosecution released on Wednesday two minors believed to have triggered fatal sectarian clashes in Khosous when they painted a crooked cross on the walls of an Islamic school run by Al-Azhar.

The Coptic Orthodox Church has identified five demands for President Mohamed Morsy to resolve the sectarian crises that have erupted in various parts of the country.

The leader of Egypt's Coptic Christians, Pope Tawadros II, has accused President Mohammed Morsi of "negligence" following deadly violence outside the main cathedral in Cairo.

An Egyptian Muslim cleric known as "the preacher of the revolution" for his sermons in Tahrir Square has been suspended following complaints of his criticism of President Mohammed Morsi, while the popular satirist Bassem Youssef faces new allegations of "insulting Pakistan."

Four days have passed since the violence that disrupted the town of Al-Khosous, home for Copts and Muslims in Egypt's governorate of Qalyubia who say they have never seen sectarian strife.

A disturbing video uploaded to YouTube on Tuesday shows what appears to be an angry Muslim crowd in Upper Egypt beating and stripping two Coptic Christian women in broad daylight in a rural area.