Pope Tawadros II offered his condolences and those of the Coptic Orthodox Church to President Adly Mansour on account of the brutal assassination of 25 police officers in the Sinai border town of Rafah yesterday, 19 August, at the hands of armed militants
Pope Tawadros II offered his condolences and those of the Coptic Orthodox Church to President Adly Mansour on account of the brutal assassination of 25 police officers in the Sinai border town of Rafah yesterday, 19 August, at the hands of armed militants
The security personnel were attacked while on their way to their barracks in Rafah. Security officials say it was an execution-style murder which claimed the lives of the policemen and left another two seriously wounded.
“It was with deep sorrow that the Coptic Church received the news of the assassination of the policemen who lost their lives in Sinai as martyrs as they answered the call for national duty,” the Pope’s message read. “The Church conveys its condolences to the victims’ families, praying God to grant them patience and strength to overcome this pain and grief. We all believe that divine justice would eventually be served,” the message proceeded. The Pope ended by confirming the Church’s constant prayers for peace and calm in Egypt.
The Pope of the Coptic Catholic Church in Egypt, Anba Ibrahim Isaac, also offered his condolences, as did the Rev. Dr Safwat al-Bayadi who heads the Evangelical Church in Egypt, and Fr Bishouy Helmi of the Egypt Council of Churches. Messages of condolences also flowed from senior Church leaders, including the Coptic Orthodox bishops Anba Moussa, bishop of Youth; and Anba Raphail Bishop-General and head of the Holy Synod; the spokesman for the catholic Church in Egypt Fr Rafic Greiche; and Rev, Sameh Maurice of the Evangelical Church at Qasr al-Dubara in Downtown Cairo.
The 25 assassinated police officers were yesterday given a funeral with full military honours attended by the Minister of Interior Muhammad Ibrahim and the army Chief-of-Staff General Sedki Sobhi.
In a show of solidarity, the men’s coffins, draped in red, white and black Egyptian flags, were jointly carried by army soldiers and policemen. Later in the day interim President Mansour declared a nationwide three-day state of mourning to mark their deaths.
Early this morning, the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) leader Mohammed Badie was caught by the police in an apartment in the east Cairo district of Nasr City. Another MB leader, Mohamed al-Beltagui, had vengefully announced in the wake of the downfall of the MB president Muhammad Mursi that attacks against Egyptians in Sinai would never stop till Mursi was reinstated, thereby confirming the connection between the MB and Sinai militants.
Watani International
20 August 2013