CAIRO, Oct 4 (Reuters) - A Christian man was killed in central Egypt on Saturday after sectarian clashes between Christians and Muslims, security and medical sources said.

Nineteen-year-old Yeshua Gamal Nashed was shot dead when scores of villagers fought each other with guns, bricks and sticks in the village of al-Tayeba, near Minya, the sources said. Three Christians and a Muslim were wounded.

A car and a pharmacy were destroyed and shop fronts were damaged before security forces used tear gas to break up the fighting. At least 15 people were arrested, the sources said.

Some security sources said fighting broke out after a Christian hardware merchant refused to give wooden sticks to Muslim minibus drivers.

They said the drivers had wanted the sticks for a fight with Muslim minibus drivers from a neighbouring town.

But others said a longstanding fight over land ownership between two families had spilled over after a man from the Christian family insulted a woman from the Muslim family. Christians account for up to 10 percent of Egypt's population. Relations with the Muslim majority are usually harmonious, but disputes over land, religious buildings or women sometimes lead to violence.

In 1999, 20 Christians were killed in a burst of sectarian violence in southern Egypt.

And in 2006, there were three days of sectarian clashes in Alexandria after a Muslim stabbed a Coptic Christian to death. Authorities said the attacker was mentally ill. (Writing by Cynthia Johnston; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

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