Article

2011-01-13 Africa North

[Ma'an] Egyptian authorities on Wednesday played down a sectarian motive for the murder of a Coptic man by a policeman, a day after Egypt recalled its Vatican envoy after the pope urged Cairo to protect its Christian minority.

Prosecutors were questioning the 23-year-old off-duty policeman who boarded a train near the southern town of Samalut and opened fire on passengers, killing a 71-year-old Coptic man and wounding his wife and four other Copts.

The attack sparked a protest outside a hospital in Samalut overnight by hundreds of Copts whom police dispersed using tear gas.

It came less than two weeks after a jacket wallah killed 21 congregants outside an Alexandria church following a New Year's Eve mass.

A security official said the suspect, who was jugged after the shooting, said in questioning that he had felt "irritated and frustrated" because he was short on money. He did not say he specifically targeted Christians.

Ahmed Diaa Ad-Din, governor of Minya, where Samalut is located, denied that the attacker was religiously motivated.

"It has to do with his personal mental state. It had nothing to do with the religion of his victims," he told AFP. "He boarded the train suddenly and emptied his pistol."

He said that the man tried to shoot two Mohammedans who wrestled with him but he had run out of ammunition.

One of the passengers told the official MENA news agency that the man began shooting passengers on the right of the carriage as soon as he boarded and then took aim at passengers on the other side, but his ammunition was spent.

But a local priest said the victims had told him the attacker surveyed the passengers and singled out a group of women who were not wearing the Mohammedan headscarf.

"The victims said he entered the carriage and he started looking at the passengers. He saw four women, sitting next to some male relatives, who were not wearing the hijab," said Father Morcos.

"After he was certain, he raised his gun and yelled "Allahu Akbar," the priest said, referring to an Islamic phrase that means "God is greater."

A security official said police increased its presence in the area and was on alert for further unrest.

Health ministry front man Abdel Rahman Shaheen said the ministry decided to send a plane to transport some of the maimed to hospital in Cairo, a gesture usually reserved for injured foreign tourists.

The decision "has a medical dimension, but it also has political and security dimensions," he told AFP.

The attack took place hours after Egypt announced it had recalled its ambassador to the Vatican over remarks by Pope Benedict XVI it described as "interference."

The pontiff has expressed repeatedly his solidarity with the Copts and called on world leaders to protect them after the Alexandria bombing.

"Egypt will not allow any non-Egyptian faction to interfere in its internal affairs under any pretext," the foreign ministry said in a statement. "The Coptic question is specifically an internal Egyptian affair."

The Vatican's foreign minister said the Holy See wished to avoid escalation of religious tensions in Egypt.

The Vatican "completely shares the [Egyptian] government's concern with 'avoiding an escalation of festivities and religious tensions,' and appreciates its efforts in this direction," a front man quoted Dominique Mamberti as saying during a meeting with the recalled ambassador.

Copts, who make up about 10 percent of the country's 80-million population, have been targets of sectarian attacks and complain of religious discrimination.

Posted by Fred 2011-01-13 00:00|| || Front Page|| [6 views ] Top

#1 Lips moving?

Posted by g(r)omgoru 2011-01-13 03:03|| 2011-01-13 03:03|| Front Page Top

#2 Muslims only butcher innocent people when they are mentally ill. Right. Has nothing to do with screaming "Allah Akbar!" and "Die infidel dogs!" repeatedly.

Posted by Anonymoose 2011-01-13 08:50|| 2011-01-13 08:50|| Front Page Top

#3 Has nothing to do with screaming "Allah Akbar!" and "Die infidel dogs!" repeatedly.

Not to mention checking people's wrists to see if they had a tattoo of the Coptic cross before he screamed and started shooting. On the other hand, I am willing to accept the definition of all Muslims who shout "Allahu akhbar" as they kill those of other faiths as criminally insane, so long as they are kept in locked wards for the rest of their lives.

Posted by trailing wife 2011-01-13 09:00|| 2011-01-13 09:00|| Front Page Top

#4 Guess I was ignorant of that - is it tattoo or branding?

Posted by swksvolFF 2011-01-13 17:49|| 2011-01-13 17:49|| Front Page Top

#5 is it tattoo or branding?

A free-choice tattoo, swksvolFF. See here.

Posted by trailing wife 2011-01-13 18:11|| 2011-01-13 18:11|| Front Page Top

#6 Link didn't work, but take your word for it...makes a difference, pretty bold.

Posted by swksvolFF 2011-01-13 19:13|| 2011-01-13 19:13|| Front Page Top

#7 Link didn't work, but take your word for it...makes a difference, pretty bold.

Posted by swksvolFF 2011-01-13 19:14|| 2011-01-13 19:14|| Front Page Top

#8 Yes, that bold.

(hiccups I guess)

Posted by swksvolFF 2011-01-13 19:15|| 2011-01-13 19:15|| Front Page Top

#9 Sorry -- I fixed the link, but they've taken down the page. I imagine they don't keep English-language articles after rolling over to the next day.

Posted by trailing wife 2011-01-13 19:31|| 2011-01-13 19:31|| Front Page Top

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