4 victims of Luxor violence laid to rest

Four Coptic Christians killed in sectarian clashes in the southern Egyptian city of Luxor on Friday were laid to rest on Sunday morning. The funerals took place at the Saint Tadros al Mashrek Monastery, in the village of Boairat, west Luxor, amid tight security. Elsewhere in the region, there was a cautious silence with security forces on high alert fearing renewed clashes between the Muslims and Copts. Elders from both sides have urged the conflicting parties to drop violence resolve their issues through a court of law. Violence erupted in the Nagaa Hassan area of west Luxor after a Muslim man was killed by Christians on ?Friday morning. About 23 houses were burnt down in the subsequent violence, killing a 54-year-old Muslim man and four Christians identified as Romani Noshi, 42, Emil Nassim, 40, Mohareb Noshi, 40 and Rassem Tadross, 53. Police used teargas to disperse the protesters, and detained dozens of Christians. Several other Christians were told to stay inside Mary Hanna Church in  the village of ?Dabeya for their own safety. Emil Nazer, a senior Coptic official from Luxor, urged the state to take responsibility and protect Christian groups. He also called for peace talks between Muslims and Christians to bring and end to the violence. He said the situation in Nagaa Hassan and Dabeya was "tragic," and disclosed the displacement of dozens of ?Christian families from the area due to the violence.