Three Copts slaughtered by a group of Muslims in Minya over a 70-year-old feud

The execution is ostensibly a “revenge" killing for a death that occurred decades ago. The group killed the Christians and danced over their bodies. Upon returning to their village, they were greeted by songs, celebrations and cries of “Allah Akbar”. The three brothers who were killed had nothing to do with past events.

Cairo (AsiaNews) – Three Christian Coptic brothers were brutally killed by a group of six Muslims, who allegedly acted in revenge to “cleanse” the blood of a relative who died about 70 years ago.

At the time of the attack, 1 March, the victims – Youssef Youssef Youssef, Afifi Youssef Youssef and Bushra Youssef Youssef – were working in an agricultural field, but news of the incident became public only recently.

The attackers, from the village of Jaweer, killed the Christian brothers, execution style while they were in the village of Ibshadat, Mallawi district, Minya governorate. They reportedly performed a ghoulish dance during the killing and then mutilated the bodies.

Local sources, cited by International Christian Concern (ICC), said that residents in the attackers’ village celebrated the killing by playing musical instruments.

Lawyers and some people familiar with the incident note that the victims knew nothing of the killing that took place decades ago, when their father was young.

Furthermore, the way the murders took place does not match those typical of revenge killings but resemble the violence of the Islamic State. According to a source, the murderers returned to their village shouting "Allah Akbar", “God is great”.

Soon after, police arrested the attackers who, during the interrogation, admitted the crime and showed how they killed the victims and cut up their bodies. Now they will stand trial for killing the three men, one of whom had six children

Extremist Islamist groups have been operating in Egypt for many years, their actions intensifying after the overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi in 2013, especially in the Sinai.

Several Christians have also been targeted, killed in attacks against individuals and groups. In February 2018, the Egyptian security forces, army and police, launched a massive campaign aimed at armed groups and jihadists in the Sinai.

• egypt
• minya governorate
• sinai
• three brothers
• killing
• islamic state
• security forces
• revenge killing