Iman Chairman calls on Egyptian authorities to protect the rights of religious minorities

Egypt's Coptic Christians turned their fury against the army on Monday after 26 people were killed and over 300 injured when troops broke up a protest in Cairo.

In the worst violence since Hosni Mubarak was ousted, armored vehicles sped into a crowd late on Sunday to crack down on a protest near Cairo's state television.

Tension between Muslims and minority Coptic Christians has simmered for years but has worsened since the anti-Mubarak revolt, which gave freer rein to Salafist and other strict Islamist groups that the former president had repressed.

Commenting on the clash, Ribal Al-Assad, the Chairman of the Iman Foundation said:

"These are tragic and deplorable events. I urge restraint on all sides and call on the interim Egyptian Government to protect the right of Coptic Christians and all minorities to peaceful assembly and religious freedom. Egyptians should say no to sectarianism,"