Third Attack on Copts Since the Beginning of the Year -- Fear Among Christians Grows

Christians in Egypt: The Third Attack This Year

(Cairo) In Egypt, the third assault has been directed against members of the Coptic minority since the beginning of the year. Security forces discovered the body of the Christian physician Bassam Sadouat Zaki.

On January 3, the Coptic merchant Youssef Lamei had been murdered in Alexandria. Only 48 hours later the corpses of the Christian couple Gamal Sami Guirguis and Nadia Amin Guirguis had been found.

The surgeon, Bassam Sadouat Zaki, practiced his profession in the city of Asyut in Upper Egypt, some 370 kilometers south of Cairo. According to the first surveys, he was stabbed with a knife on 13 January.

On January 5, the police discovered the corpses of the Coptic Guirguis couple. They too had been murdered by stabbing. As in the case of Zaki, the bloody act happened at home.The couple had been surprised with death in their sleep. The crime occurred in the governorate of Al-Minufiyya in Lower Egypt, 85 kilometers north of Cairo.

A few days ago some suspects were arrested. Neither the police nor the prosecutor's office wanted to provide more details.

Two days before the murder of the couple, the Copt Youssef Lamei had been murdered in Alexandria in the street where he was taking a break in his shop. While the authorities are silent about the motive  in the other two cases, the Islamic background of the murder in Alexandria is certain. The perpetrator shouted loudly, "Allah Akhbar" while he killed his victim with a sword before the horrified eyes of those passers-by and the inhabitants of the neighborhood.

Four murders within eleven days. Finally, on December 11, a brutal assassination attempt took place at the Peter and Paul Church in the district of al-Abbasiyya in Cairo. Directly adjacent is the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate. On the day when the Muslims celebrate the birth of Muhammad, Islamists detonated an explosive device in a Coptic church, killing 25 Christians. The jihadist militia of the Islamic State (IS) has taken responsibility.

There is growing fear among the Christians of the country.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Asianews
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
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