Sectarian violence is not new in Egypt, exploding intermittently as successive governments have been unable to quell tensions, and since Morsi was ousted minorities have continued to be targets. There have been at least six assaults on Coptic Christians – who form about 10 per cent of the Arab world’s most populous country of 84 million – in which at least seven have died and properties have been torched. Spotlight Follow our ongoing coverage of the political crisis in Egypt North Sinai has been a hotspot where unidentified attackers killed Christians, including a priest, in three different incidents. Mob violence has also claimed lives. On July 5 in Luxor, upper Egypt, four Copts were beaten to death and at least three injured after a Muslim’s corpse was found near Naga Hassan during clashes in which 24 Christian properties were destroyed. Coptic churches have also been attacked, and on July 3 two were set ablaze by pro-Morsi protesters in El-Minya and a church in the western coastal city of Marsa Matruh was damaged. On July 9, masked attackers shot at St Mary’s church in Port Said. Violence had been intensifying across the country, claiming at least 100 lives, in the days before defence minister El Sisi called on Egyptians to take to the streets on Friday 26 to give the army a mandate to “combat terrorism”.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Jul 2013 08:19:32 +0000
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