Appeal for prayer after series of violent attacks against Egyptian Christians

Egyptian Christians have appealed for prayer after a series of violent clashes in Minya province, Upper Egypt, in which Christians have been killed and injured.

Maher Nassif Tobias (50) was shot dead in his home during an attack by thousands of Muslims on Christians in the village of Nazlet Faragallah on 7 August. The mob descended on the village firing automatic weapons; they looted and torched homes, throwing petrol bombs at several properties.

A pastor’s house was the first to be attacked; he was beaten and his property looted and set alight.

Accounts differ as to what provoked the violent attack, but it appears to have been a response to an earlier sectarian altercation.

Christians shot dead

In a separate incident, two Christians were killed and another two injured when a group of Muslims shot at their vehicle on 28 July in Nazlet Roman.

Nabil Ibrahim and Ramez Wagih, who are members of the same family and both in their twenties, died in the attack; two of their relatives were injured.

One of the suspected assailants is believed to have been behind the fatal shooting of another Egyptian Christian, Peter Fawzy, last month, as well as the murder of another member of Nabil and Ramez’s family in 2007. The suspect is infamous in the area for destroying Christian property but has never been apprehended

Violence over church bell

Eight Christians were injured in another violent attack in Minya province at the end of July. Anti-Christian hostility over the installation of a church bell at a 100-year-old church in Ezbet Yacob turned violent when Muslims started attacking the building and assaulting Christians, including a pregnant woman. Six required hospital treatment. Security forces intervened and restored order, but none of the aggressors was arrested.