06/08/2019 Egypt (International Christian Concern) – Two deadly checkpoint attacks in Sinai’s al-Arish resulted in the death of 8 Egyptian police officers. ISIS claimed responsibility and planned the attack at the conclusion of Ramadan. Police responded by attacking an alleged ISIS hideout, killing 14 suspected militants.
Al-Arish was once home to 450 Christian families, most of whom arrived in the 1970s and 1980s seeking work opportunities since they were facing job discrimination. However, in 2017, all of these families were displaced because of ISIS violence intentionally seeking out Christians. Police could not control the violence and warned Christians to leave for their safety.
Since then, al-Arish Christian families have once again found themselves the victims of job discrimination. Many have been unable to create a new life in the locations where they were displaced to. For this reason, there have been several attempts by Christians to return to al-Arish, resulting in several deaths. The recent violence serves as another reminder that al-Arish continues to be off limits to Christians who may want to return.
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