Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Cairo (Agenzia Frides ) – An Islamist attack on the Coptic Church in the area of Ain Shams, dedicated to the Virgin Mary and the Archangel Michael, occurred on Friday, March 28 causing the death of four people, including a 25-year-old journalist, and a Coptic Christian. Demonstrations organized in various parts of the capital and other cities across the Country by supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, represented a reaction against the official candidate in the upcoming presidential election of General Abdel Fatah al-Sisi.
In the suburb of Cairo in Ain Shams protesters carried out their violence against the church. With the intervention of the security forces, clashes spread in the neighborhood.
According to sources of the Coptic Church, it seems the woman, Sameh Merry, was killed after Islamists noticed she had a cross dangling from the mirror of her car. According to other versions, Merry was killed because of a firearm. Bishop Raphael, secretary of the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox, expressed words of condolences for the death of the woman.(GV) (Agenzia Fides 29/03/2014)
