Government Kills Christians in Talbiya Attacks

St. Mary’s Church in Talbiya

On November 24, 2010 Egyptian security forces cordoned off St. Mary’s Church in Talbiya, a poor Christian suburb in Giza, after declaring that further construction of the church was illegal. More than 1,000 Copts retaliated by protesting the police interference, as they had previously been told by government officials that the church’s construction had been approved and that their permits were valid. Security forces fired on the unarmed protestors with live ammunition and rubber bullets. Both Copts and security forces threw stones at each other.

According to reliable reports, four Coptic Christians were killed in the protests, including three young men and a four-year-old child who suffocated from tear gas. One hundred and sixty eight Copts were arrested, including more than 20 minors under the age of 18 who were sent to Al-Marg Juvenile Detention Center.

While most attacks against Egypt’s Coptic Christians are committed by Muslim mob violence, the Talbiya attack on unarmed protestors was the first incident in recent memory authorized by branches of the Egyptian government and carried out by Egyptian security forces. Anti-Christian persecution in Egypt reached a new level, as Copts were no longer merely discriminated against, but were in fact being targeted and murdered by the government.

A policeman throws a rock at protestors

Police pelt protestors with bricks from a street overpass

Police surround church