Egypt’s security forces elevated their presence in populated areas of Egypt’s Christian minority, after President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced a countrywide state of emergency for three months.
The decision came after two church bombings killed at least 44 people, in deadly attacks which the Islamic State claimed responsibility for, as the extreme Muslim group vowed to step up attacks on Christians. In response to the dangerous situation, President Sisi ordered troops to immediately deploy to assist local police forces in security vital facilities.
Families of the victims of the deadly Church bombings held burials for their loved ones, as hundreds of mourners, many outraged by what they said was the state’s failure to keep them safe on one of their holiest days, Palm Sunday, carried coffins into the Monastery of Saint Mina in the city of Alexandria. “The security should start pulling themselves together because it is unjust for the innocent to die like that. We are telling them God forgive them because these people were sent to the sky as martyrs. Until when will we remain like that? Terrorism, terrorism, terrorism. Until when will we remain like that? The officials have to deal with this. There have to be quick trials,” Reda Malak a funeral attendee said.
Egypt’s Christian minority, the largest in the Middle East, have a recorded presence in Egypt dating back to the Roman era. The community, which makes up some 10 percent of the country’s population of 90 million, have long complained of religious persecution and accused the state of not doing enough to protect them. Only in the last few months, extreme Muslim militants have executed, in the northern Sinai town of al-Arish, seven Christians who refused to renounce their faith, causing many Christians in the northern Peninsula to flee the area, while Egyptian security forces continue to battle the Islamist insurgency.