Two people were injured and seven homes and a storage space were burnt after clashes between residents of the Minya province took a sectarian turn on Saturday, security sources told Aswat Masriya.
The clashes took place after news of a romantic affair between a Christian worker and a Muslim woman broke out in the Karam village in Minya.
A group of Muslim residents were reported to have gathered in front of the Coptic Christian worker's house and set it on fire, an act which ignited a larger set of clashes between the Muslim and Christian residents of the village.
In response, a group of Christian residents also gathered and set fire to more houses and a storage room that belong to the Muslim residents.
Two Coptic Christians were injured as a result.
An investigation revealed that a total of seven homes, three that belong to Muslims and four to Coptic Christians, were set ablaze.
Security sources told Aswat Masriya that that the crowds were later "controlled" and that five people were arrested on grounds of "creating chaos".
Security forces cordoned off the village in anticipation of renewed fighting between the two groups and reported the incident to the prosecution for investigation.
