Christians targeted in communal violence in Egypt The crackdown by Egypt's military-backed government against Islamist supporters of Mohamed Morsi, the ousted president, has unleashed the biggest wave of violence against Christian targets in the country's modern history. Some 30 churches have been either partially or completely destroyed, many of them after arson attacks. Schools, libraries, shops, cars and businesses belonging to Christians have also been targeted. At least four Coptic Christians have lost their lives since Wednesday in suspected religious killings. Most of the violence has been in Egypt's poor and conservative southern provinces, but there have also been scattered attacks on the outskirts of Cairo and in northern Egypt. Many Islamists believe Christians, who are estimated to make up 10 per cent of the population, played an instrumental role in the ousting of Mr Morsi when was deposed by the army after massive demonstrations against his rule. Threatening graffiti has been scribbled on walls and churches, adding to a sense foreboding among the Christian minority. Pope Tawadros II, the Coptic Orthodox patriarch, appeared on the dais alongside Sheikh al-Azhar, the country's top Muslim religious leaders, when Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, the defence minister, announced the end of Mr Morsi's rule. Earlier this month the patriarch suspended weekly public meetings with his followers because of fears his congregation would be attacked. Father Boktor Said described how his church in Kafr Hakim, near Cairo, was broken into by a mob of 200 to 300 local people shouting Islamist and anti-Christian slogans on Wednesday after the Egyptian security services stormed two pro-Morsi protest camps killing hundreds of people. "They broke the doors and windows, looted the furniture and equipment such as the loudspeakers, fans and air conditioners and what they could not remove, they set on fire," he told the Financial Times. He said the attackers threatened more violence on the village's 300 Christian residents, but the church has been coordinating with local "moderates and the level-headed" to ensure social peace. Fr Said said that although the police and army were contacted during the attack, no law enforcement came to the scene, echoing a complaint heard elsewhere in the country where churches have been torched or looted. Even the fire engine failed to arrive, said the priest. Instead, the church's Muslim neighbours put out the flames to prevent them spreading to their homes. In the southern province of Minya, where 13 churches were targeted, Father Ayoub Youssef, a Catholic priest, said his congregation in the village of Delga lived in fear. He said 18 Christian homes were stormed and looted by angry Muslims and a man was killed this week because he "fired in the air" to ward off the attackers. A 1400 year-old church in the village was looted and destroyed over two days he said, adding that despite pleas for help no members of the police or army came. "Almost half the Christian population of the village has left and those remaining are huddled together four or five families in a home for protection," he said. Mourad Ali, a spokesman for Mr Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood group, said his organisation had nothing to do with the attacks. He accused saboteurs working for the security services of carrying them out to incriminate the Islamists and justify repression against them. "We strongly condemn any attack - even verbal - on churches and on Coptic property," he said. This holds true whether or not Coptic leaders joined in or supported the July 3 coup for whatever reason. This does not justify any attack on them. Earlier this month 16 human rights groups said in a joint statement that they were concerned about incitement against Christians by some in the Brotherhood group and their allies in other Islamist organisations. They also condemned the state's failure to provide adequate protection to Christians and their churches. Religious violence is not new to Egypt. Over the past three decades relations between the Muslim majority and the Christian minority have become increasingly strained, and flare-ups of violence more frequent. The Copts complain of discrimination and say they are often denied justice because the state has traditionally resolved religious disputes through informal channels rather than the courts. Ishak Ibrahim, a researcher with the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, said the nature of the violence against Christian has changed since the army's ousting of Mr Morsi. "Before, the violence used to be tied to the construction of churches, or disputes between individuals which would lead to acts of collective punishment against Christians, but what we are now hearing is a rhetoric of incitement against Christians which prevents them from exercising their political rights, such as taking part in protests," he said.