Egypt suspends Christian governor linked to Mubarak regime

RANIA CAIRO: Egypt's Prime Minister Essam Sharaf has suspended a Christian governor after protests broke out in the troubled Qena province over his appointment to the gubernatorial post as he was linked to the ousted Hosni Mubarak's regime.

Sharaf has managed to end the protest in Qena, a region of central Egypt with a history of sectarian clashes, which have continued for two weeks by suspending the new governor.

The governor Emad Mikhail who has now been suspended for three months was the main reason behind the protests.

The protest started when Mikhail, a former senior police officer under the Mubarak regime was appointed as the new governor.

Mikhail is suspected to have been involved in the shooting of peaceful protesters during the revolution that brought down Mubarak's regime after three decades in power.

The protests were later hijacked by hardline Islamists who refused a Copt for a governor.

Now the controversial governor has been suspended for three months.

The protesters blocked the railway and highway detaching the north of the country from the south.

Mikhail is to be replaced temporarily by his deputy, Magued Abdel Karim.