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Hundreds of mourners gathered to attend the funeral Saturday after the death of seven people when their minibus was attacked by terrorists in front of the St. Samuel the Confessor Monastery in the city of Minya, in the south of the country. ;Egypt,.
The families of the victims moaned and sobbed when the coffins of their loved ones were transported through the streets of Minya to Prince Tadros Church, where they were celebrated and mourned.
Inside the church, Coptic clergy spoke of forgiveness and hope as families cried for their missing loved ones in a row of white coffins near the front of the church.
Pope Tawadros, leader of the Coptic Christian community of Egypt, told his supporters that the attack was aimed at sowing division and that the best answer was to avoid recriminations.
He said that it was clear to everyone that the purpose of the attack was not only to kill Christians, but to undermine the unity and cohesion of Egyptian society in general.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi presented his condolences to Pope Tawadros during a phone call. The Egyptian government has agreed to pay compensation to those killed and injured.
The survivors of the attack were transported to Cairo, where they are treated free of charge on government premises. Father Bishara Fahmy, a Coptic priest, told reporters that most of the dead were men.
He added that the attackers pursued the van by pulling on his windows when they caught up with him. They then opened the doors and, according to the survivors, shot at the men in the head and women at the legs.
The Islamic State terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attack, although some Egyptian analysts are skeptical, saying many terrorists infiltrating the country from neighboring Libya are backed by foreign governments.
Mounir Adib, a specialist in Islamic radicalism, told al-Arabiya television that Egyptian security forces "have made great strides in protecting churches and have managed to dismantle dozens of terrorist cells attacking churches and monasteries. and Christian clerics ".
Adib went on to point out that it was "difficult to protect many monasteries because they are located in desert areas, such as St. Samuel Monastery," where Friday's attack took place. St. Samuel, he noted, "is located on a winding desert road leading 130 kilometers through the western desert and into Libya.
The attack on Friday and a similar attack against Coptic pilgrims at the same monastery in May last year were perpetrated by terrorists who infiltrated the Minya region from Libya, security sources said. Egyptian.
Ahmed al-Mismari, spokesman for General Khalifa Hafter, commander of eastern Libya, has accused Qatar and Sudan of supporting the terrorists who have infiltrated Egypt and are operating in the country. desert. Both countries deny the charges.
