Train shooting adds to Christian fears in Egypt
ICC Note:
“Pope Benedict XVI called for Egypt and other predominantly Muslim nations to do more to protect their Christian populations after a spate of recent violent episodes,” reports The Sydney Morning Herald.
By Mona El-Naggar
1/13/2011 Egypt (The Sydney Morning Herald) – A gunman opened fire on passengers aboard a train heading towards the Egyptian capital, killing a Christian man and injuring five other Christians.
The attack on Tuesday came just over a week after the New Year’s Day bombing at a church in Alexandria that killed 25 Coptic Christians.
It remained unclear whether the man, who used a pistol, had singled out Christians.
More than 200 angry protesters gathered outside a hospital where the wounded from the train were taken; police dispersed them with tear gas.
An Interior Ministry statement said the authorities had arrested a man who was identified as Amer Ashour Abdel Zaher, an off-duty policeman and a Muslim.
The Interior Ministry identified the victim as Fathy Said Ebeid, 71, and said the wounded included Mr Ebeid’s wife, three other women and a man.
The gunman boarded the train in Minya province, an area south of Cairo that has a sizeable Christian population.
The shooting came a day after Pope Benedict XVI called for Egypt and other predominantly Muslim nations to do more to protect their Christian populations after a spate of recent violent episodes.
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