Security agencies on Wednesday (February 15) contained a sectarian fitnah in al-Ismā’īlīyah village in the Upper Egyptian governorate of al-Minya, where Muslim and Christian local residents exchanged hurling stones after priests and more than 100 Copts entered two houses and turned them into two churches for prayer without prior licenses.

Minya Security Director Maj. General Mamdūh Muqlid led a security force that managed to control the unrest and disperse the gathering locals.

Copts in the village had applied in 2006 and 2007 to turn two houses into churches for prayer but the request was turned down then because it fell short of meeting the set conditions.