Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Cairo (Agenzia Fides) - After a series of attacks carried out yesterday by jihadist groups against 18 army posts in north Sinai, the Coptic Orthodox Church expresses sympathy and full support to the Egyptian military. In an official statement sent to Agenzia Fides, the military are supported for their fight "against the forces of evil that threaten security in the region and in the world", and God is invoked "to save Egypt from evil".
The coordinated offensive of suicide bombings and attacks on army posts in the northern Sinai region has killed dozens of soldiers. According to data provided by the Egyptian government, the attacks have killed more than a hundred jihadist militiamen, and the situation in the area seems to be under control. For years, despite the repressive campaigns carried out by the army, North Sinai continues to be the territory of forging strong links with jihadist groups who now declare their affiliation with the Islamic State (Daesh) and have always shown particular fury against the local Coptic population. According to sources of the Patriarchate, at least 400 Coptic families reside in northern Sinai, but their slow and steady exodus to safer areas began a while ago.
Also in Sinai direct threats against Christians have increased after the Coptic Patriarch supported the operation with which, in early July 2013, the armed forces ousted Islamist President Morsi. On July 6 of that year the priest Mina Aboud, a close collaborator of Bishop Kosman had been killed in el-Arish. Since then the local Coptic community has been hit by a series of murders and kidnappings with ransom demand, attributable in large part to the jihadist faction Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis. The same group addressed death threats to all Christians in Sinai, accused of supporting President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and not to pay the "protection fee" to support jihadist fighters. Meanwhile, according to rumors spread by local media after the attack that cost the life of the Egyptian Attorney General Hisham Barakat, security measures around Coptic Orthodox Patriarch Tawadros II have also increased. (GV) (Agenzia Fides 02/07/2015)
