By Tamim Elyan
CAIRO: Twenty-three suspects and eyewitnesses were arrested Monday in Imbaba as part of investigations into Saturday’s violence.
The arrests included the man who whose claim that his wife was held in the church triggered the deadly clashes, as well as the café owner who allegedly fired the first gunshot.
The army had announced on Sunday that 190 were arrested and were to face military trials following clashes and exchange of gunfire near the Marmina Church and the burning of the nearby Virgin Mary Church.
Eyewitnesses said that ultra conservative Salafis congregated at the church after they were told that a woman wanting to convert to Islam was held inside. Some accused her husband, Yassin Thabet of making the call that led to the violence.
Other eyewitnesses blamed an owner of a café facing the church, Adel Labib, of initiating the shooting to disperse the gathering.
Twelve people were killed and scores were injured. A Ministry of Health official told Daily News Egypt Monday that the injured increased to 240.
He said that the families of the injured held a protest in front of the governorate headquarters on Monday, demanding compensation. Clashes erupted between the families and security forces resulting in the injury of eight.
He said that all critical cases are now stable.
The army-imposed curfew put in place Saturday night on the section of Luxor Street that leads to the Marmina Church and the area surrounding the Virgin Mary Church on Al-Wehda Street, continued through Monday.
Employees from Giza governorate surveyed damages to shops and houses in the area surrounding the two churches in order to issue compensations to their owners.
Cleaning workers from the local district authority used loaders and trucks to clear the area of debris and fixed the lighting posts.
Yasser Fawzy, whose shop lies adjacent to the church, said that “bearded men” burnt his shop and threw out the furniture.
“Since the events, the army has imposed a curfew and fielded a lot of troops and armored vehicles. It has been stable since then, but we are waiting for compensation for the damages,” he said.
Heavy security measures were taken in the area surrounding the churches as army personnel and central security forces closed all alleys and prevented vehicles from entering Luxor Street and checked the personal IDs of passers-by.
“My apartment was robbed completely by mobs after the clashes on Saturday night,” said Andrew Al-Far, a resident of Al-Mashrou’ Street where the Marmina Church lies.
“Since the curfew was imposed, we haven’t been able to go anywhere,” he added.
Prayers were held at Al-Azraa Church Monday after which worshipers cleaned the burnt church.
“We have been cleaning the church since yesterday and removing the burnt objects; everything was destroyed, it was horrible” said George Nabil, an eyewitness and a resident.
Nabil said that the attackers, Salafis accompanied by thugs, killed one of the church keepers, Salah Salib, and burnt four floors of the church.
Salib’s funeral was held at his hometown in Minya Monday.
Nabil claimed that one of the attackers fell off the church and died.
Clashes took place as the army attempted to disperse an unrelated fight Sunday night.
Army officers told Daily News Egypt on condition of anonymity that they fired blanks to disperse the crowds and didn’t shoot at anyone.
They said that they were wrongfully accused of firing live bullets at Christians. They said the recent arrests were coordinated between the army and the investigations department at the Ministry of Interior.
A report issued by the fact-finding committee of the National Council for Human Rights blamed the violence on “the weak” response of authorities to incidents of sectarian strife. Authorities didn’t adequately deal with such incidents using the law, it said.
It also blamed some satellite channels for inciting religious extremism. The report said that they threaten the coherence of the state and its legitimacy.
A statement issued by human rights organizations said that the authorities since the ouster of Mubarak didn’t strictly apply the law in dealing with sectarian tension nor did they take measures to guarantee religious freedoms.
The organizations echoed statements made by the justice minister a day earlier in their warning that if such incidents continue, Egypt might enter a period of “organized terrorism” and called for independent and fair investigations. –Additional reporting by Heba Fahmy.
