Egypt - Clashes outside church funeral for Coptic Christians slain in sectarian clashes.

Egypt - Clashes outside church funeral for Coptic Christians slain in sectarian clashes.(AO).

Clashes broke outside the Abassiya Church funeral for the victims of sectarian clashes in Qalyubia, Egypt. Mourners exiting the church came upon a street where they were first pelted with stones. The mourners, in turn, shot stones back and shots were heard. A crowd is now moving towards the building where they heard the shots from. An Ahram Online reporter at the scene could not confirm if they were live rounds.

Hundreds of mourners surrounded four coffins in Abassiya Church in Cairo on Sunday where Bishop Rafael prayed over the bodies of those killed in sectarian clashes in Qalyubia governorate.

At least five people were killed on Saturday by gunshot and at least eight were injured in Al-Khosous town, Qalyubia.

Four Christians and one Muslim were killed in the violence, Egypt’s health ministry reported. A Coptic priest, however, told the private CBC satellite channel Sunday that six Copts had died and many more were injured.

In Sunday’s Mass, the coffins were surrounded by crosses and roses and sobs were heard during the prayers, reports Ahram Online journalist.

Soon after the prayers ended attendants started chanting angrily: "Leave, leave [in reference to President Morsi]" and "Down with the rule of the supreme guide" inside the church. Morsi was fielded for presidency by the Muslim Brotherhood's political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party.

While several marches are reportedly planned, the main march was scheduled to set off at noon from Saint Mark’s Cathedral in Abassiya, Cairo, following Sunday mass prayers.

The deadly sectarian clashes that erupted in Qalyubia Saturday ensued when a group of Christian teenagers allegedly painted offensive drawings on the gates of an Al-Azhar (Muslim) institution in the town, MENA news agency reports

The situation further escalated when someone fired a gunshot into the air, killing one boy with a stray bullet, Reuters reported.

In the aftermath of the violence, 15 people were arrested and the town was tightly controlled by police forces.

Shops belonging to Christians were reportedly smashed by angry protesters. Reuters stated that some Christian and Muslim properties were burnt.

The violent attacks have sparked widespread condemnation by rights groups and politicians.

Al-Azhar’s Grand Imam Ahmed Al-Tayeb urged measures to prevent the situation from escalating and to "preserve the national character of the Egyptian people — Muslims and Christians," MENA state news agency reported.

The ruling Islamist Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) said Saturday in a statement that "The party is [sorry] for the victims of these unfortunate clashes, regardless of their religion — Muslims or Christians."

It called on authorities to "reveal the plans [aimed at creating strife between different Egyptian sects], punish those behind them and stop this threat."Hmmmm......'Reveal the plan?'....easy enough it's written on each wall 'there's only one God'.Read the full story here.