(Egypt) Christians deplore 'forced' conversions

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Cairo - At least 20 Egyptian policemen have been injured on Wednesday after a group of 1 000 Christians staging a sit-in at the compound of the main Coptic cathedral in Cairo threw rocks at them, a journalist said.

Roads leading to the cathedral, the seat of Pope Shenuda III, head of the Coptic Church, were sealed off, as the police tried to restore calm and restrain a protest over the disappearance of a priest's wife in the delta governorate of Beheira.

The protesters claimed 48-year-old public sector agricultural engineer Wafaa Constantine was abducted by her Muslim boss, Mohammed al-Margun, and forced to convert to Islam.

Nearly 400 Egyptian Christians demonstrated on Sunday at the cathedral and accused police of complicity.

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