Terrorists Kill 28 Christians on Church Bus Trip to Popular Monastery
(UPDATED) Egypt cancels Ramadan’s opening celebration in response to stunning attack on Copts.
[ POSTED 5/26/2017 09:33AM ]
Image: Minya Governorate media office via AP
Bodies of Coptic Christians killed when gunmen stormed their church bus in Minya, Egypt.
Terrorists ambushed a Coptic church bus trip on Friday near Minya in Upper Egypt, killing at least 28 and injuring 23, including many children.
Egypt’s interior ministry reported that three 4x4 vehicles of 8 to 10 gunmen dressed in military uniforms opened fire on the vehicle, which was on its way to St. Samuel the Confessor Monastery in Samalout, 140 miles south of Cairo.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the attack—which occurred on the eve of Ramadan—follows church bombings claimed by the Islamic State on Palm Sunday and in advance of Christmas.
Last week, Egyptian authorities arrested 48 individuals, securing confessions of belonging to a terrorist cell linked to the Islamic State.
“I am grieving. It is sad and shocking,” said Bishop Thomas of the Coptic Orthodox diocese of Qusia, 75 miles from the monastery. “But at the same time, I know this is not new. I was expecting things like this to happen. And it will not be the last.”
Thomas described St. Samuel’s as a favorite location for Copts to visit in central Egypt. A desert monastery, it has a simplicity that attracts both spiritual pilgrimage and social outings.
The move to attack Coptic civilians outside of church services is a worrisome development. Thomas compared it to attacks perpetrated against Copts by militant groups in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He views the attacks as connected, and an effort to disturb Egyptian stability.
“As long as society is so much into fundamentalism and sectarianism,” said Thomas, “this atmosphere will bring more and more [attacks].”
Egypt canceled opening Ramadan celebrations as the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyib, condemned the attacks. “The Minya incident is unacceptable to Muslims and Christians,” he said, “and it targets Egypt’s stability.” (The cancelation was a significant gesture, but does not affect the traditional Eid al-Fitr holiday at the end of the month-long Ramadan fast.)
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered the bombing of a terrorist camp in Libya, similar to the government response following the Islamic State beheading of 21 mostly Egyptian Copts in Libya.
Andrea Zaki, president of the Protestant Churches of Egypt, also condemned the attacks and offered prayers of healing for the injured.
“Such cowardly acts will not affect the firmness of the country, nor the determination of Egyptians to rid the nation of terrorism,” he said. “Targeting innocents, it seeks to spread fear and threaten the peace of the nation.”
Local media reports stated the gunmen hid out behind a hill on the road to the monastery, and afterwards smashed and burned the bus, from which only three children survived. The convoy contained two additional cars.
The incident will likely prompt further fear in the Coptic community.
“People will think more carefully about security and safety, [or] going to retreats, conferences, or to visit monasteries,” said Thomas, who urged a response of love, justice, and avoidance of fear. “But people will think, ‘What’s next? Who’s next? Maybe it will be me.’ You never know.”
Comments
Post a Comment