Eleven Copts died in massacre in Egypt; minority fears more violence

Two Coptic families were killed by members of radical Islamic groups, aided by Muslim neighbors, in a village 200 kilometers south of the capital, Cairo, according to a statement by the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) on Friday. "The massacre took place on 30 January 2011. Eleven people were killed, including a 3-year-old girl. Due to information blackouts imposed by Egyptian officials, we did not hear about this crime until yesterday evening," reported Ulrich Delius, head of the Africa section at the STP. Attacks on Copt-owned businesses were reported from other parts of the country as well. Members of the minority reported looting that targeted Copts' places of business in the escalating violence in many Egyptian cities.

The murders occurred on Sunday afternoon in the village of Sharuna on the banks of the Nile, population 75,000, south of Maghaga in the Minya province. The two Coptic families had shut themselves into their houses due to the volatile situation in the country. A number of followers of radical Islamic groups, known by name, were by neighbors to force their way through the roof into the home of Joseph Waheeb Massoud, killing him, his wife Samah, their 15-year-old daughter Christine and eight-year-old son Fady Youssef. Another group of radical Muslims broke into the home of Copt Saleeb Ayad Mayez and murdered him and his wife Zakia, as well as his three-year-old daughter Justina, four-year-old son Joseph, his mother Zakia, his 23-year-old sister Amgad and Ms. Saniora Fahim. Four other Copts survived with gunshot wounds. Both houses were subsequently looted.

The STP urgently appeals to the Egyptian government to protect Copts and punish the murderers. Furthermore, the STP has called on their 8,500-member action network to send e-mail to the Egyptian embassy in Berlin, demanding an immediate end to violence against Copts. "President Hosni Mubarak is playing a shameful and dangerous game if he permits the violence against the Christian minority to escalate, just so he can present himself as the savior, protecting people from the growing influence of the Muslim Brotherhood." On Thursday evening, Mubarak stated that only he and his regime could prevent chaos and anarchy in Egypt.

The government-organized attacks on human rights activists and journalists were further condemned by the STP as "outrageous." "With this witch hunt against the witnesses of state violence, the Mubarak regime has removed itself from the community of civilized nations," as stated in their communication to the e-mail action network.