Cairo, police fled before the attack on the church of the Virgin Mary
Cairo (AsiaNews)
- The security forces charged with protecting the Christians of the Church of
the Virgin Mary in Warraq were not present at the time of the Islamist attack that
left four dead and over 20 injured. This
was revealed by the Administrative Director of the Coptic community of al-
Warraq ( Giza ) , who stated that he saw the guards sent by the Ministry of the
Interior leave the building during the massacre .
When
questioned by investigators, the man said that he was working in his office -
located above the entrance of the church - when he heard the shots. He
looked out the window, noting that the security personnel had fled up a side
street leaving unguarded the church . This
witness reopens the controversy about the responsibilities of police and
members of the army, already accused by Christian leaders of doing nothing to
prevent attacks by Islamists or defend buildings and places of worship. Eye-witnesses
of the al- Warraq attack confirm that despite numerous distress calls , police
and ambulances only arrived on the scene two hours after the shooting.
The
October 20 attack, is the first deliberate attack on a church in the capital
since July 3, the day of the fall of the Islamist President Mohamed Morsi. According
to reports three people were involved in the shooting, which targeted the
marriage of two young people. Investigators
believe that in addition to the two men aboard the motorcycle, a third
accomplice had infiltrated among guests.
Yesterday
thousands of people attended the funeral of Miriam Nabil, a victim of only 8
years, and the other three people who died in the shooting, all from the same
family. In
his homily, bishop Youannas said: "The blood shed by innocents is never in
vain in the eyes of God and the Church . Those responsible for this act delude
themselves if they think they will stop us from attending church. After this
incident our community
has gained more strength, thanks to the sacrifice of our martyrs . "
The
case of al- Warraq has provoked harsh criticism from Muslim authorities. Ahmed
al- Tayyeb , Grand Imam of Al-Azhar (the most important university of Sunni
Islam ) , described the attack as an act of " crime against religion and
values ." The
grand mufti Shawki Allam said that "the attacks against churches are
prohibited acts by Islamic Sharia". As
for the political front , one of the leaders of the Freedom and Justice Party ,
the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood , wrote on Facebook: "I
condemn with the greatest firmness this attack and demand an investigation ."
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