Thousands remember slain Copts in Cairo demo

Several thousand people marched to Cairo's central Tahrir Square on Friday to remember the 25 people, mostly Coptic Christians, killed in clashes with troops during a demonstration last month. The marchers first stopped at the Egyptian capital's Coptic hospital, where many of the dead and wounded were taken during the night of the Oct. 9 violence. Numerous cultural and media personalities were among Friday's crowd, with some people carrying Egyptian flags and others crosses, state news agency MENA said. There were no reports of violence, with police monitoring the march, MENA added. The 25 people were killed, and scores more injured, after clashes broke out between troops and protesters as Copts held a demonstration against an attack on a church at the end of September. Witnesses said soldiers fired upon protesters and ran them over with armored cars, accusations the military has denied. The military said a number of its soldiers died in the clashes but has declined to give a toll.