CAIRO: Authorities in the governorate of Minya continued arresting suspects implicated in the attack on the Abo Fana monastery.
Most recently, authorities took in a 35- year-old man and called another in for questioning.
Sectarian clashes near the monastery on May 31 resulted in the death of one Muslim and the injury of seven Coptic Christians, five of whom were monks.
Abu-Qeela Nagi Salem was the 17th person to be arrested for participating in the attack on the monastery. Authorities also summoned Mohammed Samir Abu Lo’lola for questioning on his role in the incident.
Authorities also released two brothers, Abdel-Qader, 65, and Shawaf Abdel-Rehim, 50, after concluding that they had not been involved in the attack. Another 14 of those arrested were remanded for a further 15 days as investigations continued.
The attack was apparently sparked by a wall being built around the monastery. Although the monastery had received official approval for the wall it began building around neighboring property, Muslim residents protested the building of the wall in the surrounding agricultural land claiming it would damage the crops. They also claimed to own the land surrounding the monastery.
Khalil Mohammed Ibrahim was killed in the clashes and two novices from the monastery were taken to a hospital in the nearby town of Mallawi in critical condition.
The attack has led to great unrest throughout the governorate and tensions have been further inflamed after the death of 23-year-old Copt Milad Farag who was killed in a fight with Khamis Eid, a Muslim, in what was described as a “personal quarrel.
A Coptic neighbor from the village of Dafsh where the murder happened, Nabil Hanin, said it wasn’t a sectarian quarrel. “Both are neighbors who had a fight, like all youth do. Sadly, it escalated this way, she said.
With the governor of Minya in attendance at Farag’s funeral, Copts in attendance demonstrated, expressing their anger at the lack of protection they are receiving.
This echoes the demonstrations that took place in the wake of the attack at Abo Fana, as hundreds of Copts protested in front of the Orthodox Parish in Mallawi and clashed with security forces there.
A priest at the parish, Mussa Girgis, claimed that three of the five injured monks were kidnapped and tortured after the attack.
“The monks were tied to palm trees, blindfolded and whipped, and one monk had his leg broken as a result, he said.
A monk from Abo Fana named Mina said that the monastery was attacked by at least 60 Muslims who were armed with guns and opened fire on the monastery.
