Violence escalating against Christian churches in Egypt

August 15, 2013: The Muslim Brotherhood's anger for the forced evacuation of the pro-Mohamed Morsi sit-ins has been unleashed against Christians. By Wednesday, the Islamists had attacked seven Catholic churches and a full fifteen religious structures of the Coptic-Orthodox Church and the Protestant church. The attacks took place in Cairo and in the governorate of Sohag (Upper Egypt). The news was announced by Fr. Rafic Greiche, spokesperson for the Egyptian Catholic Church, who underlined the fact that the Western media has remained silent about the attacks. At the moment it is unclear whether any persons have been injured or killed.

The violence directed against Christian targets reflects the belief—widely held by supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood—that Christians in Egypt conspired to bring down the Morsi government.

The reprisal occurred immediately after Tuesday night's clashes in the neighborhoods of Nadha and Rabaa al-Adawiya, in the capital, and in Alessandria, el-Fayum and Suez, where the police brought in bulldozers to level the camps organized in the last few weeks by the Muslim Brotherhood. 95 persons died in the attack, according to army sources.

To avoid chaos, the Egyptian government has declared a state of emergency.

(Source : AsiaNews + CWN)