Ten hurt in Christian-Muslim clashes in Egypt

CAIRO, May 11 (Reuters) - At least 10 Egyptian Christians were injured on Friday in sectarian clashes after rumours spread in a village near Cairo that Christians planned to build a church without government permission, security sources said.

They said four Christian homes in the village of Behma were set on fire during the clashes that erupted after Muslim Friday prayers.

The security sources said police intervened to stop the clashes, in which close to 500 people took part, and arrested 17 people from both faiths.

Coptic Christians comprise up to 10 percent of the about 75 million Egyptians, most of whom are Sunni Muslims.

Relations between the two communities are usually peaceful but there are sporadic outbreaks of violence. In 1999, 22 people were killed in communal strife in southern Egypt.