London (CNN) -- Violence has returned to the streets of Cairo -- this time in fresh confrontations between army forces and pro-Coptic Christian protesters.





Accounts of the casualties vary but an Egyptian health ministry spokesman told CNN that 25 people had been killed and more than 272 injured during the weekend protests that were sparked by the burning of a Coptic Christian church in southern Egypt.





There has been long-standing tension between Egypt's Coptic Christians and Muslims but CNN's Ben Wedeman in Cairo says that since this year's revolution that removed the former President Hosni Mubarak there have been more of these clashes.





In the aftermath of the latest violence, Egypt's Prime Minister Essam Sharaf has vowed to ban all discrimination based on religion, language, gender or ethnicity.





But why has the violence erupted after a revolution which promises to deliver fresh democratic elections, who are the Coptic Christians and what will the new measures achieve? CNN examines the background.





After a revolution that brought change, do people have renewed confidence in being able to protest? Are they seeing an opportunity to make their voices heard ahead of elections?





Ben Wedeman reports that at least among activists, there is a growing concern that any form of political activity, particularly demonstrations, that target the regime will be met by the kind of force used Sunday evening





One Coptic man told our correspondent that the military is more than happy to allow "millions of Muslim fundamentalists to occupy Tahrir Square every Friday, and cooperate with them in doing so, but when it comes to people who criticize -- Copts, Muslims, secular people -- the military, they use their guns."





He says it's also important to keep in mind that one thing that occupies the minds of many Egyptians is that since the revolution the economy has gone from bad to worse. Tourists are scarce, foreign investment is drying up. One Egyptian told him: "If people don't get back to work within the next five months, there could be famine and chaos."





Why did the military react with such a heavy hand, given its experiences in the revolution?





Wedeman says it is a good question to which no one really has an answer, but offers this analysis:





During the revolution the army stood on the sidelines, and were cheered by the masses





The military, however, adds Wedeman, is not an organization which by its nature is well adapted to dealing with civil disturbances, and that has been clear for some time. They often stand by when the situation goes out of control -- something they did during the revolution when regime thugs tried to attack the protesters in Tahrir Square.





There are concerns among some that with the spread of Islamic fundamentalism within Egyptian society as a whole that religious hardliners have gained a foothold in the officer corps, and that is reflected in the way they dealt with the Coptic protesters.





One sometimes hears Muslims describe Christians as "kufar" -- infidel -- even though the traditional interpretation of Islam was that Christians and Jews are not "kufar" but rather "Ahl al-Kitab" -- the people of the book -- meaning that they are followers of books holy in the Abrahamic tradition.





Who are the Coptic Christians?





The Coptic Christians make up somewhere between 8 and 11 % of the 80 million Egyptians, most of whom are Sunni Muslims. They are not ethnically distinct. They base their theology on the teachings of the Apostle Mark, who introduced Christianity to Egypt, according to St. Takla Church in Alexandria, the capital of Coptic Christianity. Copts split from other Christians in the 5th century over the definition of the divinity of Jesus Christ.





The Copts have been a target of violence in the past but there have been dozens of casualties this year. The New Year's Day bombing of a Coptic church in Alexandria left 23 people dead, and during sectarian clashes in Cairo on May 7 at least 12 people were killed. The most recent protests follow the September 30 burning of the Mar Girgis church in Edfu, a city in Aswan governorate in southern Egypt.





Sectarian violence in Egypt is nothing new. Maha Azzam,
who are fighting? What did Wedeman say? how many coptic christians are there? where is the violence? What percentage of the population is Coptic Christian? How many percent do Christians make up?
army forces and pro-Coptic Christian protesters. since this year's revolution that removed the former President Hosni Mubarak there have been more of these clashes. somewhere between 8 and 11 % of the 80 million Egyptians, streets of Cairo 8 and 11 % somewhere between 8 and 11 %
question: who are fighting?, answer: army forces and pro-Coptic Christian protesters. | question: What did Wedeman say?, answer: since this year's revolution that removed the former President Hosni Mubarak there have been more of these clashes. | question: how many coptic christians are there?, answer: somewhere between 8 and 11 % of the 80 million Egyptians, | question: where is the violence?, answer: streets of Cairo | question: What percentage of the population is Coptic Christian?, answer: 8 and 11 % | question: How many percent do Christians make up?, answer: somewhere between 8 and 11 %