Egypt tightens church security
Source: Agencies |
January 7, 2011, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
EGYPTIAN authorities put up a heavy security cordon early yesterday around the main Coptic cathedral in Cairo hours before Christmas Eve Mass, using bomb-sniffing dogs, metal detectors and officers to try to prevent another attack like the New Year's suicide bombing of a church that killed 21 people.
Al-Qaida in Iraq had threatened Christians in Iraq and Egypt in the weeks leading up to the holidays, and militant websites have posted online lists of churches in Egypt to target.
Egypt's Coptic Christian minority, which makes up 10 percent of Egypt's 80 million people, celebrates Christmas on January 7. Some Christians have said they will skip Christmas Eve services for fear that there will be more attacks.
Across the country, police were preventing vehicles from parking near churches. They also planned to check identity cards of those entering churches and ban people from bringing in bags and pursues. Outside the Coptic cathedral in downtown Cairo, security officers with walkie-talkies fanned out across the surrounding streets to keep an eye out for suspicious activity.
In the southern province of Minya, a worker at a church found a small explosive device packed with nails and fireworks planted under the building's stairs, a security official said. He said the device appeared to have been put there to "test security measures."
Several daily newspapers reported that Egypt's Interior Ministry has asked church officials to prevent crowds from gathering in front of churches after Mass. The request appeared aimed at avoiding the same situation in the January 1 bombing in Alexandria, where worshippers lingered outside a church after a midnight service.
On Wednesday, the ministry published a picture of an unidentified man whose head was found at the site of the Alexandria attack. A security official said that church officials could not identify the man, and presumed that he might be the attacker.
But six days after the bombing, Egyptian authorities appear to have made little headway in their investigation. The perceived lack of progress has fanned fears among many Christians of possible repeat attacks.
Those concerns have grown since several Coptic websites circulated statements allegedly posted on Islamic militant websites listing more than 40 other churches in Egypt and abroad as possible targets.
The bombing of the Alexandria church was the worst act of sectarian violence in Egypt in a decade.
Al-Qaida in Iraq had threatened Christians in Iraq and Egypt in the weeks leading up to the holidays, and militant websites have posted online lists of churches in Egypt to target.
Egypt's Coptic Christian minority, which makes up 10 percent of Egypt's 80 million people, celebrates Christmas on January 7. Some Christians have said they will skip Christmas Eve services for fear that there will be more attacks.
Across the country, police were preventing vehicles from parking near churches. They also planned to check identity cards of those entering churches and ban people from bringing in bags and pursues. Outside the Coptic cathedral in downtown Cairo, security officers with walkie-talkies fanned out across the surrounding streets to keep an eye out for suspicious activity.
In the southern province of Minya, a worker at a church found a small explosive device packed with nails and fireworks planted under the building's stairs, a security official said. He said the device appeared to have been put there to "test security measures."
Several daily newspapers reported that Egypt's Interior Ministry has asked church officials to prevent crowds from gathering in front of churches after Mass. The request appeared aimed at avoiding the same situation in the January 1 bombing in Alexandria, where worshippers lingered outside a church after a midnight service.
On Wednesday, the ministry published a picture of an unidentified man whose head was found at the site of the Alexandria attack. A security official said that church officials could not identify the man, and presumed that he might be the attacker.
But six days after the bombing, Egyptian authorities appear to have made little headway in their investigation. The perceived lack of progress has fanned fears among many Christians of possible repeat attacks.
Those concerns have grown since several Coptic websites circulated statements allegedly posted on Islamic militant websites listing more than 40 other churches in Egypt and abroad as possible targets.
The bombing of the Alexandria church was the worst act of sectarian violence in Egypt in a decade.
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