CAIRO, Oct 13, 2011 (AFP) - Egypt's government said Thursday it would discuss the sensitive issue of building permits for Christian churches at the heart of sectarian tensions in the overwhelmingly Muslim country.
The announcement came after 25 people were killed on Sunday when armed forces clashed with thousands of Coptic Christians marching in Cairo to protest an attack on a church. Most of the dead were Copts.
Information Minister Osama Haikal said a commission would be formed to "examine all the incidents that erupted in recent months because of conflicts around the churches."
The commission would be tasked with finding a way to "stop these incidents happening again," he told state television.
The cabinet and the military, which has run Egypt since president Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February, wanted to "address the situation of the Christian places of worship without a licence anywhere in the republic," said Haikal.
Copts, who comprise roughly 10 percent of Egypt's 80 million population, say the laws on obtaining building or renovation permits for churches are overly restrictive, and that Muslims enjoy much a more liberal regime for mosques.
The government had said on May 11, after deadly unrest, that it would prepare within a month legislation to lift restrictions on church building and banning demonstrations outside places of worship.
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