CAIRO – Numerous churches across Egypt were attacked Aug. 14 by mobs angered at the military’s deadly crackdown on protesters in Cairo.
Beni Mazar Baptist Church in Minya, located 150 miles south of Cairo, was among churches targeted. It was attacked and burned. No casualties or injuries were reported.
Violence in Minya, however, left 41 people dead, including six policemen.
At noon on Aug. 14, Mounir Sobhy Yacoub Malaty, pastor of First Baptist Church in Cairo and a leader of Egypt’s Baptist convention, posted on his personal Facebook page, “Pray: Baptist Church in Beni Mazar, Minya, has been attacked.”
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IMB file photo An Egyptian flag, left, flies with flags from other Arab countries in Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo, Egypt. Tension has escalated as hundreds of thousands of Egyptians have taken to the streets to express their opposing political opinions. |
He quickly followed with an update, “Beni Mazar Baptist Church on fire.”
Later that day, Malaty posted a brief video showing the ransacked and burning remains of the church.
Before It’s News website listed 17 churches that were targeted, attacked, looted and burned Aug. 14.
The Aug. 14 violence, leaving more than 500 dead and 3,500 injured nationwide, began when government troops moved to clear thousands of supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi who were occupying two sit-in camps in Cairo.
Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected president, was removed from power on July 3 after serving only one year in office.
Clashes later spread throughout Cairo, then across the country. The government has declared a month-long state of emergency, imposing a nighttime curfew in nearly half the country’s provinces.
(EDITOR’S NOTE – Charles Braddix is a writer for the International Mission Board based in Europe.)