CAIRO - At least 1,000 Christians gathered in Cairo on Tuesday to protest the burning of a church last week after deadly clashes between Christians and Muslims in a city south of the capital, state television said.

The protest outside the radio and television building in central Cairo comes a day after at least 2,000 angry Christians demanded the re-building of the torched church, and that those found guilty be brought to justice.

Elsewhere in Cairo, Christian rubbish collectors blocked a major road linking north and south Cairo echoing the same demands.

The Shahedain (Two Martyrs) church, in the Helwan provincial city of Sol, was set fire on Friday after clashes between Coptic Christians and Muslims that left two people dead.

The violence was triggered by a feud between two families, which disapproved of a romantic relationship between a Christian man and a Muslim woman in Sol.

"Problems escalated in the village when a group of Muslims headed to the burned out church and conducted a mass Islamic prayer there," Maged Ibrahim, a Christian resident told Egyptian state television.

On Monday, Egypt's ruling military council vowed to have the church rebuilt and to prosecute those behind the arson attack.

Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt's 80 million population, complain of systematic discrimination and have been the target of several sectarian attacks.

There are around 7,000 Christians in Sol, out of a total population of 50,000.