Egyptian police refuse to protect Coptic Christians during gun and machete attack on mourners at cathedral

LEON WATSON – 30/4/13

• Men with guns, wielding machetes and hurling stones laid siege to cathedral
• Uniformed officers looked on and appeared to help one gunman take aim
• Worshippers were streaming out of service held for victims of earlier clash
• It follows increase in tensions between Egypt’s Christians and Muslims

A shocking video has emerged that appears to show Egyptian police standing idly by as an anti-Christian mob launch a frenzied attack on a cathedral filled with mourners.

Two worshippers were left dead and 84 injured, including 11 police officers, as men shooting guns, wielding machetes and hurling stones laid siege to the walled Coptic cathedral compound in Cairo earlier this month.

Footage of the prolonged mass attack shows uniformed officers looking on and appearing to help one gunman take aim at people streaming out of a service held for five men killed in an earlier clash with Muslims.

The fighting erupted on April 7 after a mass funeral for the five Copts who were killed during violent clashes in a north Egyptian town. The new footage of the attacks was first obtained by MidEast Christian News.

A Muslim man also died in the clashes in the Abbassia District of Cairo, which happened after an Islamic institute was daubed with offensive graffiti.

The only arrests that were made afterwards were of four Copts, who were already outraged over a three-day attack that began April 4 attack in Khosous.

It saw the four men killed and homes, a nursery and a church burned, said the events show how elusive justice is for Christians, who make up about 10 per cent of the nation’s population.

Andrew Johnston, advocacy director for Christian Solidarity Worldwide, told Fox News: ‘Two Copts were killed during the attack on the Cathedral; four more died in Khosous, yet not one of their attackers has been arrested.

‘These arrests come at a time when the Coptic community in Egypt is still coming to terms with an unprecedented attack on the headquarters of the Coptic Orthodox Church and the violence in Khosous.

‘Such discrepancies in the discharge of justice contribute to impunity, and can only foster more sectarianism.’

Tensions between Egypt’s Christians and the majority Sunni Muslims have grown dramatically since President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in 2011 and replaced by the Muslim Brotherhood-led government of Mohammed Morsi.

A report released on Wednesday by the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights said: ‘There is a general feeling among citizens about the absence of law and the prestige of the state.

‘Such a feeling could push the citizens to the violence and sectarianism without fearing from any deterrence.

‘The recent incident proved the shrinking of the role of the state to control the actions of the individuals especially those people who think that they talk on the behalf of God,’ the report continued. ‘There is a need for implementing the law strictly to treat such incidents.’

Source: