EGYPT: Christians riot following the death of 7 on Orthodox Christmas

Thousands of angry Egyptian Christians, called Copts, clashed with security forces today after a drive-by shooting outside a church in the town of Nagaa Hammadi, 420 miles south of Cairo, left six Copts and a Muslim security guard dead.

Nine others were also seriously wounded in the shooting.

Anonymous security and hospital officials earlier confirmed that a gunman, accompanied by two others, opened fire on worshipers gathering outside a Nagaa Hammadi church right after the end of the Coptic Orthodox Christmas Mass late on Wednesday night.

Nearly 3,000 Copts took their exasperation over the killings to the town's public hospital this morning, where bodies of the dead, as well as the nine injured, were taken.

Demonstrators who chanted "No to religious oppression!" tried to expand their protests to other Nagaa Hammadi streets. That was when police intervened by firing shots into the air and unleashed tear gas and water cannons in an attempt to disperse the crowd.

Rioters responded by hurling a police station and a mosque with stones and set fire to a number of cars including an ambulance vehicle.

Relatives of the dead and wounded Copts have said that upon the request of security forces, the hospital is refusing to release bodies, fearing the eruption of heated and violent funerals before their burials.

Other eyewitnesses said that families of the dead refused to receive the bodies until the government took action against the shooter.

The Ministry of Interior released a statement this morning announcing that initial investigations have pointed to an ex-convict as the killer, adding that the shooting could be related to the alleged rape of a 12-year-old Muslim girl by a 20-year-old Christian man in a nearby village in November.

The alleged rape stirred religious tensions between neighboring Copts and Muslims, who destroyed and looted Christians' properties over five days, threatening more retaliation.

Bishop Kirollos of Nag Hammadi's church told media that he and other Copts received intimidating phone messages before the Coptic holy season. He supported the ministry's statement regarding the identity of the sniper, while blasting authorities for leaving someone with such a criminal record loose.

"For days, I had expected something to happen on Christmas Day," the bishop told the Associated Press. "Suppose it was vengeance. Where was the security? We are facing a religious war and lack of security," he added.

Egypt's Christians, mostly Copts, form 10% of the country's population. They are the largest non-Muslim community in the Middle East and have long been complaining of religious, social and political discrimination.

Sporadic clashes between Muslim and Copts left eight dead last year.

-- Amro Hassan in Cairo

Photo: Egyptian Copts celebrate Orthodox New Year in the presence of President Hosni Mubarak's son, Gamal Mubarak, Wednesday. Credit: Agence France-Presse

Comments

[demiss]

God, please save all chiristians who are under the influence of non belivers

[Julie]

babaganouj...

the Copts are the native people of Egypt, the ones whose ancestors were there when the arabs invaded Egypt (99% of whom were Christian) in 642 AD. The word Copt means egyptian and has nothing to do with religion. The word Orthodox wasn't even used until the 11th century after the great schism.

[Truthseeker]

The official explanation from the Egyptian Ministry of the Interior is that this shooting was in retaliation for the rape of a 12 year old, but there is little evidence to support this supposition. The rape happened in November in a different town than the shooting took place. The Egyptian government does not take crimes committed against Christians seriously and continually makes excuses not to prosecute and convict Muslims accused of murdering Christians. Furthermore, this incident marks the worst violence against Christians in Egypt in a decade. Please read this article from the AP to understand why your story is misleading:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/08/ap/middleeast/main6072868.shtml

[Muhammad]

She was 12 years old. Who Are you people?

[elacho]

babaganoug is ignorant.
copt means egyptian christian and that is now our nationality after Sept 11th attack on innocent christians and jews.
the word arab started being attached to terrorrism which is a reality for 1400 years but noone in the west paid attention to it in the past.
I pray to God that the west wakes up.
next time pay attention to what you say.

[In Egypt's love]

I am Coptic from upper-Egypt,
I am not sad because of the dead youth because I believe that they are in the paradise , I am also not sad because of the church because the church is used to this kind of injustice from hundreds of years ago , .. but I am really sad for a country where the voice of the truth has become dimmed.

[Peter Saad]

This stuff is atrocious and needs to be dealt with. The government in Egypt has been playing blind for way too long. How does someone go and kill 6 Christians on their way home from Christmas mass? Can you imagine the families that were waiting for their loved ones to come and celebrate and break their fast with them, and never did? It is just horrible and something needs to be done because these people arent just killers, they have no heart.

[babagannouj]

So I'm confused with your first sentence here.

Are Copts just Egyptian Christians that are angry? or just Egyptian Christians? and are all Egyptian Christians Copts?

A bit misleading and ignorant if I might say.

Not all Egyptian Christians are Copts, they are the majority, but there are other Christian denominations in Egypt, and they are certainly not all angry!

I don't mean offense, but the description in your sentence is definitely offensive.

[Dragoslav]

I am very sorry for this loss of life.Christ is born to all my orhtodox brothers and sisters.