Copts flee Sinai after suspected IS attacks

ISMAILIYA ( Egypt): Dozens of Coptic Christians have left Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula after a string of extremist attacks killed three Christians in the restive province, church officials said.

On Thursday, suspected Islamic State extremists killed a member of the minority in the North Sinai city of El-Arish and set his house on fire.

The Coptic Church condemned the “terrorist” attacks in a statement on Facebook, saying the assaults were aimed at “dividing and torpedoing” the Egyptian people.

About 250 Christians took refuge in the Evangelical Church in the Suez Canal city of Ismailiya, said church deacon and administrator Nabil Shukrallah.

“They’ve come running with their children. It’s a very difficult situation. We’re expecting 50 or 60 more,” he said.

Other church officials said they have also received Copts fleeing the peninsula.

Families sat in the Evangelical Church’s courtyard amid bags filled with their belongings and blankets, some of them still terrified of the danger they escaped.

“We’ve become scared of our shadows. We’re scared someone would be walking behind us and shoot us. Christians are being targeted in an ugly way,” said one middle aged man who refused to give his name.

“Some people are too scared to even open their doors to go out and buy food,” he added. — AFP