Egypt PM to hold urgent meeting on deadly religion clashes

Essam Sharaf has postponed a visit to the Gulf in order to discuss the violence. The clashes broke out after several hundred conservative Muslims gathered at a church in central Imbaba district.

They alleged a woman convert to Islam was being held there against her will.

What reportedly began as an exchange of words between protesters, church guards and people living nearby developed into a fully-fledged confrontation involving gunfire, firebombs and stone-throwing.

Two churches and some nearby homes were set alight, and it took some hours for the emergency services and the military to bring the situation under control.

"Prime Minister Sharaf has called for an emergency meeting of the cabinet to discuss the regrettable events in Imbaba," Ahmed al-Saman, a cabinet spokesman, told the official Mena news agency.

State TV reported that Mr Sharaf had postponed his visit to Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, which was scheduled for Sunday.

Similar claims about women being held against their will have been made before by Salafist groups, who have become more assertive in the post-Mubarak era, the BBC reports.

In March, 13 people died in similar clashes in another neighbourhood. Last month, demonstrators in the southern city of Qena cut all transport links with Cairo for a week in protest over the appointment of a Christian governor.

Coptic Christians account for about 10% of Egypt's population, and have long complained of state discrimination against them.

Now they are reportedly expressing fears for their safety if hardline Muslims do well in the election scheduled for September.