Cairo, January 12, 2010
On the same day that Egypt recalled its ambassador to the Vatican over the Pope's declaration of solidarity with Copts, another attack, in all likelihood inspired by Islamic fundamentalism, has resulted in the death of one Christian and the injury of five others, reports Asia News.
In a statement, the Vatican said it "fully supports" the will of the Egyptian government to "avoid an escalation of tensions for religious reasons ... and appreciates the governments efforts in this direction." The statement follows a meeting between the Vatican’s "foreign minister", Msgr. Dominique Mamberti, and the Egyptian ambassador, Lamia Aly Hamada Mekhemar, who in turn said she was "expressing the concerns of his government in this difficult time."
Meanwhile, another serious incident occurred on the railway line linking Cairo to Assiut. A police officer, Amer Abdel Zaher Ashur, took the train to Salamut, about 200 km south of Cairo, and opened fire with his police weapon. He killed a 71-year-old Coptic Christian, Fathi Said Ebeid, and wounded his wife of 61 and four others. Medical sources say that all the wounded, two of them in serious condition, are Christians. The police officer, who was not in uniform, tried to flee but was arrested in the station. He was questioned about the motives for his attack, but the investigators are maintaining secrecy on the outcome of the interview. Ayman Mohyeldin, Cairo correspondent for Al Jazeera, said that the authorities do not seem eager to disclose the reasons for the attack. "The bombing of Alexandria is on everyone’s mind. There will be many questions about whether the Salamut attack has religious roots. "
Bishop Morcos, bishop of the Coptic Church in Salamut, claims to have spoken to some witnesses of the attack. "This madman went back and forth on the train looking for Christians. Seeing a group of women and girls who were not wearing a veil, he thought they were Christian and fired, shouting 'Allahu Akbar' (God is great). " Following the incident, a few hundred Copts gathered in front of the Good Shepherd Hospital in Salamut, where the injured are hospitalized, and clashed with police, who responded with tear gas.
