http://www.smh.com.au/world/shooting-on-train-adds-to-christian-fears-in-egypt-20110112-19o5y.html
Shooting on train adds to Christian fears in Egypt January 13, 2011 CAIRO: A gunman opened fire on passengers aboard a train heading towards the Egyptian capital, killing a Christian man and injuring five other Christians. The attack on Tuesday came just over a week after the New Year's Day bombing at a church in Alexandria that killed 25 Coptic Christians. It remained unclear whether the man, who used a handgun, had singled out Christians. More than 200 angry protesters gathered outside a hospital where the wounded from the train were taken; police dispersed them with tear gas. An Interior Ministry statement said the authorities had arrested a man who was identified as Amer Ashour Abdel Zaher, an off-duty policeman and a Muslim. The Interior Ministry statement identified the victim as Fathy Said Ebeid, 71, and said the wounded included Mr Ebeid's wife, three other women and a man. The gunman boarded the train in Minya Province, an area south of Cairo that has a sizeable Christian population. The shooting came a day after Pope Benedict XVI called for Egypt and other predominantly Muslim nations to do more to protect their Christian populations after a spate of recent violent episodes. He also urged Pakistan to repeal its blasphemy law, saying that it was being used "as a pretext for acts of injustice and violence against religious minorities". The Pope's comments, made during an annual address to Vatican diplomats, rankled the Egyptian government. It recalled its ambassador from the Vatican on Tuesday in response. The January 1 bombing, which occurred after a New Year Mass, was the worst attack against Christians in Egypt in recent memory. It set off days of protests by Christians calling for better protection and equal treatment from the government. Coptic Christians in Egypt celebrated their Christmas last week under heavy security. Unrest in Egypt has increased the chance that its ailing 82-year-old President, Hosni Mubarak, will seek a sixth six-year term this year, to preserve the status quo. In Rome, a Vatican official, Monsignor Jean-Louis Brugues, said Egypt's reaction was ''the proof that the things said by the Pope have hit the mark'' but stressed he was speaking in a personal capacity. No one has been charged with the Alexandria bombing, which came after an al-Qaeda-linked organisation threatened to attack Coptic churches in Egypt. The investigation into that attack was marred at the weekend after it was disclosed that a suspect had died in police custody, triggering demonstrations against alleged brutality towards prisoners. Agencies [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
