Egypt: Coptic Christian Teacher Shot to Death by Islamic Militants in Sinai

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A school official of El-Samran, who spoke under condition of anonymity, confirmed Tawfiq’s death but did not reveal further information.

Times of Ahmad | News Watch | UK Desk
Source/Credit: Christian Daily
By Lorraine Caballero | February 18,. 2017

A Coptic Christian teacher in northern Sinai was shot to death by suspected Islamic militants while he was on his way to school, according to a security chief in Egypt.

Gamal Tawfiq, 50, was walking from his home to the El-Samran School in el-Arish, Egypt when two suspected Islamic militants gunned him down. This is the second time that suspected militants have killed a Christian within a span of one week, the Associated Press notes.

A school official of El-Samran, who spoke under condition of anonymity, confirmed Tawfiq’s death but did not reveal further information.

In a separate incident in the city of el-Arish on Sunday, suspected militants also shot to death a local Christian veterinarian named Bahgat Zakher. A merchant named Wael Milad, who is also a Coptic Christian, was also killed by assailants who barged into his store.

Last year, several Christians in Sinai died at the hands of Islamic militants, including a priest named Rafael Moussa and health ministry worker Massak Nasrallah. Coptic Watani daily says Nasrallah was stopped by militants on the road to el-Arish and was gunned down when they learned he was a Christian.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide has released a new report warning of increasing violence against Christians in Egypt. The organization notes that the number of blasphemy cases against Christians and attacks targeting religious minorities have climbed up since 2011, Premier reports.

CSW's Egypt Advocacy Officer, whose name has been withheld for security reasons, told Premier that they are now collaborating with the government to uplift Christians' situation in Egypt.

"There will be an attack on a community, the security services may know about it before hand and do nothing, there's precious little follow up for the Christian community in terms of justice," the CSW officer told Premier. "We're making recommendations to try and encourage the Egyptian government in everything they've done well but also pointing out to everyone here that there are serious areas of concern where we want to see the Egyptian government do better."

Egypt currently ranks 21st on Open Doors' World Watch List of the 50 nations that are considered the worst Christian persecutors.



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