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ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (AP) - More than 100 people have been detained for questioning over Muslim-Christian clashes in Egypt's second biggest city, where violence subsided Monday but sectarian feelings remained high.
The riots were touched off by knife attacks at three Coptic Christian churches on Friday. A mentally ill man was being held in the stabbings, which killed one man and wounded up to 16 other people.
Altogether, two people were killed and at least 40 were wounded in the clashes, which began Friday and continued through Sunday.
Calm returned to Alexandria's el-Asafrah district on Monday. Shops reopened and the central Street 45 was full of people going about their daily business. But a dozen security force members and plainclothes police stood guard outside the church of Saint Maximus, where worshippers were heard singing hymns.
"There was a sort of a truce, but this is not the end of the crisis," Bishop Bemwah Ghali told The Associated Press. "We really need a radical solution that can quell this anger."
Ghali accused certain Muslims of harassing Copts. "Some mosque imams keep calling us infidels. They should stop that," he alleged.
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A local imam denied the accusation.
"This is irresponsible talk," said Sheik Ahmed Ibrahim of al-Bukhari mosque, which stands about 150 yards from Saint Maximus.
"The priest should be seeking peace instead of making statements that could lead to a massacre, especially at this time," Ibrahim told the AP.
Prosecutor Sami Brek said 52 detainees were suspected of rioting, incitement, damage to property, and transgression of places of worship over the weekend. In a statement carried by the semiofficial Middle East News Agency, he said another 50 people were being questioned over the riots.
Late Monday, Brek ordered the detention of the 50 for 15 days, security officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to issue press statements.
Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
