“I had expected something to happen on Christmas day,” the bishop was quoted as saying. “It is all religious now. This is a religious war about how they can finish off the Christians in Egypt,” he said.
by Lauren Frayer, Sphere, January 7, 2010
(Jan. 7) — Drive-by shooters sprayed automatic gunfire into a crowd of churchgoers in southern Egypt, killing at least seven people at they streamed out of church after midnight Mass, officials said Thursday.
The attack took place overnight in Nag Hamadi, about 40 miles from popular tourist sites at the ancient ruins of Luxor. It was in apparent retaliation for the rape of a 12-year-old Muslim girl by a Christian man in November, according to an Interior Ministry statement carried by news agencies.
It said witnesses had identified the lead attacker but made no mention of any arrests. Three other people were seriously wounded, it said.
Relatives of people injured in an attack on a church in Nag Hamadi, Egypt, wait outside a hospital Thursday. Gunmen killed six worshipers and a security guard.
The victims had been worshiping on the eve of Coptic Christmas, which Egypt’s minority Christians celebrate on Jan. 7 along with Orthodox communities around the world. About 10 percent of Egypt’s 83 million people are Coptic Christians, who frequently complain of discrimination and sectarian attacks in the predominantly Muslim country.
A local Christian leader, Bishop Kirollos, told The Associated Press that the victims were six male worshipers and a security guard. He had just left the church when he heard shots ring out, and gave a chilling account of what happened next.
Kirollos told AP he received a text message on his mobile phone reading: “It is your turn.” He believes it was from the attackers, who want to spark a religious war among Christians and Muslims in the local area.
“I did nothing with it. My faithful were also receiving threats in the streets, some shouting at them: ‘We will not let you have festivities’,” he was quoted as saying.
Kirollos said he ended the service one hour earlier than normal because of the threats, so the shooting occurred almost exactly at the stroke of midnight between Wednesday and Thursday.
After the rape of the Muslim girl in November, residents rioted for five days, setting fire to Christian properties in Nag Hamadi and neighboring villages.
“I had expected something to happen on Christmas day,” the bishop was quoted as saying. “It is all religious now. This is a religious war about how they can finish off the Christians in Egypt,” he said.
