QENA - Residents in southern Egypt protesting the appointment of a Christian governor said they want the country's top leaders to step down. Demonstrators in the southern city of Qena are protesting the appointment of a Coptic governor with ties to the regime of ousted Hosni Mubarak. Protesters blocked roads and rail lines and violence has been reported, the British government warned. The Egyptian leadership under Prime Minister Essam Sharaf described the protests as illegal and confirmed the governor. Residents in Qena said they want Sharaf and Deputy Prime Minister Yehia al-Gamal to step down, Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm reports. A human rights council is on its way to Qena to investigate the protest, the report adds. The military leadership in Egypt announced recently that demonstrations were banned. The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office this week issued a travel warning for Egypt in part because of violence in Qena. "You should observe instructions and advice by local security authorities and avoid public gatherings and disturbances," the warning read.
