Egypt declares three-month state of emergency after Palm Sunday church bombings kill 44

Updated

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has declared a three-month state of emergency after suicide bombers targeted two Coptic churches, killing at least 44 people and injuring dozens more in the run-up to Easter.

Key points: Under emergency law constitutional rights are suspended, police are given more power

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the deadly attacks

Attacks on Coptic churches in Muslim-majority Egypt occur regularly

At least 27 people were killed and 78 injured in the first blast at a Coptic church in the Nile Delta town of Tanta, north of Cairo, Egypt's Health Ministry said.

The second blast, in front of a Christian church in Alexandria on the country's north coast, killed 17 and injured at least 48 others, the ministry added.

It said the Alexandria explosion was caused by a suicide bomber who tried to storm the entrance before being stopped by police.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for both attacks, saying two of its fighters wearing suicide vests carried out the attacks, and warned of more to come.

The assault is the latest on a religious minority increasingly targeted by Islamist militants, and presents a challenge to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who has pledged to protect Coptic Christians as part of his campaign against extremism.

In a televised speech to the nation, Mr Sisi declared a three-month countrywide state of emergency, subject to parliamentary approval, and called for national unity and urged the media to refrain from coverage that could be harmful.

Under instated emergency law, constitutional rights are suspended, censorship is legalised and police are able to arrest and detain citizens indefinitely without charge.

Mr Sisi, a former army chief who came to power following a coup in 2013, also dispatched elite troops across the country to protect key installations and accused unidentified countries of fuelling instability.

"Egyptians have foiled plots and efforts by countries and fascist, terrorist organisations that tried to control Egypt," he declared.

Egypt had been under emergency law for decades until the 2011 revolution, which eventually led to the law becoming redundant as the country was placed under martial law following the 2013 coup.

Egyptian governments however have long been criticised for abusing the emergency law to persecute citizens, and activists are questioning Mr Sisi's motive in reinstating it given the impunity with which he currently maintains ruling the country.

Coptic Christians: Egypt's persecuted minority

The blasts on Palm Sunday were the latest in a series of assaults on Egypt's Christian minority, which makes up around 10 per cent of the population and has been repeatedly targeted by Islamic extremists.

Copts face regular attacks by Muslim neighbours, who burn their homes and churches in poor rural areas, usually in anger over an inter-faith romance or the construction of a church.

The latest attacks came just one week before Coptic Easter, and in the same month Pope Francis is scheduled to visit Egypt.

Pope Tawadros II, the leader of the Coptic church, was in the Alexandria cathedral at the time of the bombing but was unhurt, the Interior Ministry said.

"These acts will not harm the unity and cohesion of the people," Pope Tawadros II said after the attacks.

It was the single deadliest day for Christians in Egypt in decades, and the worst since a bombing at a Cairo cathedral in December killed around 30 people.

Pope Francis expressed his "deepest condolences" to all Egyptians and to the head of the Coptic Church during his Palm Sunday Mass before tens of thousands of people in St Peter's Square.

"I pray for the dead and the victims. May the Lord convert the hearts of people who sow terror, violence and death and even the hearts of those who produce and traffic in weapons," he said.

US President Donald Trump, a strong supporter of Mr Sisi who recently invited him to the White House, expressed his condolences on Twitter.

"So sad to hear of the terrorist attack in Egypt. U.S. strongly condemns. I have great confidence that President Al Sisi will handle situation properly," Mr Trump wrote.

CBC TV showed footage from inside the Tanta church, where a large number of people gathered around what appeared to be lifeless, bloody bodies covered with papers.

"There was blood all over the floor and body parts scattered," a woman who was inside the church at the time of the attack said.

"There was a huge explosion in the hall. Fire and smoke filled the room and the injuries were extremely severe," another woman, Vivian Fareeg, said.

"Where is the Government?" screamed Maged Saleh, who rushed to the church in Tanta where his mother escaped the carnage. "There is no Government!"

"After the explosion, everything became dark from the smoke," said Edmond Edward, attending Mass in Tanta with his brother, Emil, who suffered head wounds.

"There was a clear lapse in security, which must be tightened from now on to save lives," he said, adding that the blast appeared to be centred near the altar.

Egypt struggles to combat wave of Islamic militancy

Egypt has struggled to combat a wave of Islamic militancy since the 2013 military overthrow of elected Islamist president Mohammed Morsi.

A local Islamic State affiliate claimed responsibility for the December bombing in Cairo.

In February, Christian families and students fled Egypt's North Sinai province in droves after the Islamic State group began a spate of targeted killings there.

A militant group called Liwa al-Thawra claimed responsibility for an April 1 bomb attack targeting a police training centre in Tanta, which wounded 16 people.

The group, believed to be linked to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, has mainly targeted security forces and distanced itself from attacks on Christians.

AP/Reuters

Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, eastern-churches, terrorism, egypt

First posted</s>Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has declared a state of emergency for three months after two suicide bombings killed scores of Christians in two church attacks on Palm Sunday.

El-Sissi accused countries he didn’t name of fueling instability in Egypt, saying that “Egyptians have foiled plots and efforts by countries and fascist, terrorist organizations that tried to control Egypt.”

The army chief-turned-president hasn’t detailed the legal measures needed to declare the state of emergency but according to the Egyptian constitution, the parliament majority must vote in favor of the state of emergency.

Egypt declared a state of emergency in the months that followed the military ouster of the Islamist President Mohammed Morsi when his supporters staged mass demonstrations that descended into violence.</s>State of emergency in Egypt after church bombings

A day after brazen ISIS attacks killed dozens at two Coptic Christian churches on Palm Sunday, Egypt declared a three-month state of emergency, a measure designed to help authorities root out the killers.</s>Egypt imposed a three-month nationwide state of emergency Monday as President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi sought to ease public anger and take a tougher stand against Islamic extremists after suicide bombings at two Coptic Christian churches killed 45 people.

A day after the Palm Sunday bloodshed, the Interior Ministry said it killed seven Islamic State militants in an exchange of gunfire during a security operation in the southern city of Assiut. The ministry alleged they were plotting attacks against Christians. It posted photos of corpses lying next to weapons and said IS publications were found with them.

A state of emergency already in place in the Sinai Peninsula has failed to halt near daily attacks against police and security forces by the Islamic State group in the volatile area.

Now the group is stepping up its attacks against Christians, who make up 10 per cent of the population, by moving its activities from the Sinai to other parts of Egypt. Its increasingly sophisticated tactics are likely to fuel sectarian tensions and embarrass el-Sissi.

The Palm Sunday bombings struck churches in the port city of Alexandria, the historic seat of Christendom in Egypt, and the city of Tanta. The head of the Coptic church, Pope Tawadros II, had been inside St. Mark’s Cathedral in Alexandria when the bomber struck there but was unhurt.

“We are seeing simultaneous attacks, based on strong information, targeting big churches across the country. This is a very dangerous development,” said Mina Thabet, a rights researcher focusing on minorities.

“Christians are in a state of shock,” he added. “Attacks are recurrent, victims are falling in bigger numbers, and people live in fear and these groups are growing in power, number, and resources.”

There were scenes of grief and anguish Monday as mourners wailed during funerals at the sprawling St. Mina monastery on the outskirts of Alexandria. Some collapsed near the caskets, which bore the word “martyr.”

Similar scenes took place a day earlier at a church in Tanta, where victims were laid to rest in a place of honour.

On Sunday, the Rev. Danial Maher buried his 23-year-old son, Beshoy. He recalled watching him singing at the service before the attack at St. George’s Church in Tanta. “He was like an angel,” he said.

Photos of the elder Maher, sitting helplessly in his blood-stained vestments after the bombing, were widely circulated online.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks and identified the two attackers with names suggesting they were Egyptians. The group, which carried out a bombing at a Cairo church in December that killed 30 people, threatened more such violence, saying the blood of Christians would flow “like rivers.”

Coptic Christians have put their faith in el-Sissi, who championed himself as the bulwark against Islamists.

The former army chief met with U.S. President Donald Trump a week ago at the White House, seeking closer ties and discussing the fight against extremism. Trump spoke by phone Sunday with el-Sissi to express confidence that Egypt will do what it can “to protect Christians and all Egyptians.”

The latest IS attacks were a blow to el-Sissi’s image and left many Christians doubting whether he is capable of protecting them.

He sought to restore that confidence by imposing the state of emergency, declaring three days of mourning, deploying special forces to help police secure churches and other key installations, and ordering the formation of a new body called the “Supreme Council to Combat Terrorism and Fanaticism.”

Parliament has seven days to approve the state of emergency – an action seen as a foregone conclusion since the legislature is packed with el-Sissi supporters. The Cabinet declared it had gone into effect at 1 p.m.

In theory, it allows for arrests without warrants, the swift prosecution of suspects and the establishment of special courts. But authorities already have been waging a heavy crackdown on dissent for years, so it was unclear what would change.

A limited state of emergency and nightly curfew in the northern Sinai since 2014 has done little to stem violence there.

“We won’t see a change on the ground, as this decision wasn’t taken to give more powers or tighten control,” said political analyst Yasser Abdel-Aziz. “It’s a purely political decision that is meant to have a psychological impact.”

El-Sissi has clamped down on opponents since he led the military overthrow of an Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi, who was elected in 2013. Security forces violently dispersed demonstrations in the months that followed, killing hundreds of protesters. Thousands were jailed, mainly Morsi supporters but also secular and liberal activists.

“The powers that the security agencies have already don’t need reinforcement by the state of emergency,” Abdel-Aziz said. “The status quo of media and press freedoms is ideal for the security authorities to work without much noise.”

Joe Stork of Human Rights Watch said el-Sissi “seems to think that more repression of all Egyptians is the simple answer to terrorist attacks.”

What Egypt needs, he said, are “fair trials, not emergency courts with no appeal, which is mainly what the latest declaration of a state of emergency will give him.”

Many believe the unraveling of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s oldest and largest Islamist group, is creating new recruits for extremists.

The liberal Egyptian Social Democratic Party said the state of emergency could make things worse.

“Terrorism increased in the presence of the state of emergency,” said party leader Mohammed Arafat. “The real battle against terrorism starts with the execution of law on all without discrimination.”

The Palm Sunday attacks, the single deadliest day for Egypt’s Christians in decades, prompted messages of support from abroad, including from Pope Francis, who is to visit Egypt on April 28-29.

“This whole thing is to cause sectarian strife,” said Mona Makram, a former parliamentarian from a prominent Coptic family. “They want to show also that it is not only Sinai that will be targeted but the rest of the governorates.”

Israel shut its Taba border crossing to Egypt after its anti-terrorism office warned of an “imminent” attack there. The closure came hours before the start of Passover.

Soon afterward, sirens blared in parts of southern Israel, alerting residents to a rocket attack. The military said a rocket fired from Sinai hit a greenhouse but caused no injuries. The Islamic State claimed responsibility.</s>Egypt imposed a three-month nationwide state of emergency Monday as President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi sought to ease public anger and take a tougher stand against Islamic extremists after suicide bombings at two Coptic Christian churches killed 45 people.

A day after the Palm Sunday bloodshed, the Interior Ministry said it killed seven Islamic State militants in an exchange of gunfire during a security operation in the southern city of Assiut. The ministry alleged they were plotting attacks against Christians. It posted photos of corpses lying next to weapons and said IS publications were found with them.

A state of emergency already in place in the Sinai Peninsula has failed to halt near daily attacks against police and security forces by the Islamic State group in the volatile area.

Now the group is stepping up its attacks against Christians, who make up 10 per cent of the population, by moving its activities from the Sinai to other parts of Egypt. Its increasingly sophisticated tactics are likely to fuel sectarian tensions and embarrass el-Sissi.

The Palm Sunday bombings struck churches in the port city of Alexandria, the historic seat of Christendom in Egypt, and the city of Tanta. The head of the Coptic church, Pope Tawadros II, had been inside St. Mark’s Cathedral in Alexandria when the bomber struck there but was unhurt.

“We are seeing simultaneous attacks, based on strong information, targeting big churches across the country. This is a very dangerous development,” said Mina Thabet, a rights researcher focusing on minorities.

“Christians are in a state of shock,” he added. “Attacks are recurrent, victims are falling in bigger numbers, and people live in fear and these groups are growing in power, number, and resources.”

There were scenes of grief and anguish Monday as mourners wailed during funerals at the sprawling St. Mina monastery on the outskirts of Alexandria. Some collapsed near the caskets, which bore the word “martyr.”

Similar scenes took place a day earlier at a church in Tanta, where victims were laid to rest in a place of honour.

On Sunday, the Rev. Danial Maher buried his 23-year-old son, Beshoy. He recalled watching him singing at the service before the attack at St. George’s Church in Tanta. “He was like an angel,” he said.

Photos of the elder Maher, sitting helplessly in his blood-stained vestments after the bombing, were widely circulated online.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks and identified the two attackers with names suggesting they were Egyptians. The group, which carried out a bombing at a Cairo church in December that killed 30 people, threatened more such violence, saying the blood of Christians would flow “like rivers.”

Coptic Christians have put their faith in el-Sissi, who championed himself as the bulwark against Islamists.

The former army chief met with U.S. President Donald Trump a week ago at the White House, seeking closer ties and discussing the fight against extremism. Trump spoke by phone Sunday with el-Sissi to express confidence that Egypt will do what it can “to protect Christians and all Egyptians.”

The latest IS attacks were a blow to el-Sissi’s image and left many Christians doubting whether he is capable of protecting them.

He sought to restore that confidence by imposing the state of emergency, declaring three days of mourning, deploying special forces to help police secure churches and other key installations, and ordering the formation of a new body called the “Supreme Council to Combat Terrorism and Fanaticism.”

Parliament has seven days to approve the state of emergency – an action seen as a foregone conclusion since the legislature is packed with el-Sissi supporters. The Cabinet declared it had gone into effect at 1 p.m.

In theory, it allows for arrests without warrants, the swift prosecution of suspects and the establishment of special courts. But authorities already have been waging a heavy crackdown on dissent for years, so it was unclear what would change.

A limited state of emergency and nightly curfew in the northern Sinai since 2014 has done little to stem violence there.

“We won’t see a change on the ground, as this decision wasn’t taken to give more powers or tighten control,” said political analyst Yasser Abdel-Aziz. “It’s a purely political decision that is meant to have a psychological impact.”

El-Sissi has clamped down on opponents since he led the military overthrow of an Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi, who was elected in 2013. Security forces violently dispersed demonstrations in the months that followed, killing hundreds of protesters. Thousands were jailed, mainly Morsi supporters but also secular and liberal activists.

“The powers that the security agencies have already don’t need reinforcement by the state of emergency,” Abdel-Aziz said. “The status quo of media and press freedoms is ideal for the security authorities to work without much noise.”

Joe Stork of Human Rights Watch said el-Sissi “seems to think that more repression of all Egyptians is the simple answer to terrorist attacks.”

What Egypt needs, he said, are “fair trials, not emergency courts with no appeal, which is mainly what the latest declaration of a state of emergency will give him.”

Many believe the unraveling of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s oldest and largest Islamist group, is creating new recruits for extremists.

The liberal Egyptian Social Democratic Party said the state of emergency could make things worse.

“Terrorism increased in the presence of the state of emergency,” said party leader Mohammed Arafat. “The real battle against terrorism starts with the execution of law on all without discrimination.”

The Palm Sunday attacks, the single deadliest day for Egypt’s Christians in decades, prompted messages of support from abroad, including from Pope Francis, who is to visit Egypt on April 28-29.

“This whole thing is to cause sectarian strife,” said Mona Makram, a former parliamentarian from a prominent Coptic family. “They want to show also that it is not only Sinai that will be targeted but the rest of the governorates.”

Israel shut its Taba border crossing to Egypt after its anti-terrorism office warned of an “imminent” attack there. The closure came hours before the start of Passover.

Soon afterward, sirens blared in parts of southern Israel, alerting residents to a rocket attack. The military said a rocket fired from Sinai hit a greenhouse but caused no injuries. The Islamic State claimed responsibility.</s>Pope Francis will visit Egypt as planned this month despite the weekend bombings of two Coptic Christian churches that killed 44 people, a Vatican official said.“There is no doubt the Holy Father will maintain his offer to go to Egypt” on April 28 and 29, Monsignor Angelo Becciu, the Holy See’s number three, said in an interview published in the Italian daily Corriere della Sera on Monday.“What happened caused disorder and tremendous suffering, but it cannot stop the pope’s mission of peace,” he added.Islamic State group claims Egypt church bombingsSunday’s bombings in churches in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria and Tanta north of Cairo were the deadliest attacks on the Coptic Christian community in recent memory and were claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group.Becciu, who will travel to Egypt with the pontiff, described the bombings as an “attack on dialogue, on peace”.“Egypt has assured us that everything will go as well as possible, so we will go confidently,” he said.The pope had also voiced his condolences Sunday for victims of the double bombing, which has led Egypt to declare a three-month state of emergency.Egypt church bombings: Sisi declares three-month state of emergency“May the Lord convert the heart of those who sow terror, violence and death and also the heart of those who make weapons and trade in them.”Francis will become the second Roman Catholic pope to visit Egypt, following John Paul II’s historic trip there in February 2000.The Vatican’s slogan for the trip is “Pope of peace in Egypt of peace”.</s>Relatives and onlookers gather outside a church after a bomb attack in the Nile Delta town of Tanta, Egypt. (Photo: AP)

Cairo: President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi declared a three-month state of emergency in Egypt following twin church bombings that killed dozens of people in two cities today.

Sisi announced the "state of emergency for three months" in a defiant speech at the presidential palace after a meeting of the national defence council.

The Islamic State group had claimed responsibility for the church bombings in the Nile Delta cities of Alexandria and Tanta in which at least 44 people were killed.</s>(AFP) CAIRO, Egypt — President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi declared a three-month state of emergency in Egypt following twin church bombings that killed dozens of people in two cities on Sunday.

Sisi announced the “state of emergency for three months” in a defiant speech at the presidential palace after a meeting of the national defence council.

The Islamic State group had claimed responsibility for the church bombings in the Nile Delta cities of Alexandria and Tanta in which at least 44 people were killed.

The emergency law expands police powers of arrest, surveillance and seizures and can limit freedom of movement.

Egypt had been ruled for decades under a state of emergency, which was cancelled a month before Islamist president Mohamed Morsi took power in 2012.

Rescinding it had been a main demand of Egyptian rights activists during the 2011 revolt that overthrew veteran strongman Hosni Mubarak.

Following Morsi’s overthrow by Sisi, then an army chief, in 2013, a state of emergency was declared for a month after deadly clashes between police and Islamist protesters killed hundreds and Islamist mobs attacked Christian properties.

Part of North Sinai where the Islamic State group’s Egyptian affiliate is based has remained under a state of emergency.</s>CAIRO — Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has called for a state of emergency for three months after two suicide bombings killed scores of Christians in two church attacks on Palm Sunday.

El-Sissi accused countries he didn’t name of fueling instability in Egypt, saying that “Egyptians have foiled plots and efforts by countries and fascist, terrorist organizations that tried to control Egypt.”

The army chief-turned-president hasn’t detailed the legal measures needed to declare the state of emergency but according to the Egyptian constitution, the parliament majority must vote in favor of the state of emergency.

Egypt declared a state of emergency in the months that followed the military ouster of the Islamist President Mohammed Morsi when his supporters staged mass demonstrations that descended into violence.

The Egyptian president declared three days of nationwide mourning following the suicide bombings.

In response to the attack, the country will form a supreme council to counter terrorism and extremism, Sisi said on state television Sunday after an emergency meeting of the country’s National Defense Council.

“We have to pay attention because of Egypt and Egypt’s future. We know this is a big sacrifice but we are capable of facing it,” he said.

“The attack will not undermine the resolve and true will of the Egyptian people to counter the forces of evil, but will only harden their determination to move forward on their trajectory to realize security, stability and comprehensive development,” the President said in a statement.

Nile and Masriya TV, Egyptian state outlets, aired black banners in the upper left of its newscasts to signify mourning for the victims of both explosions.</s>Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has called for a state of emergency for three months after two suicide bombings killed scores of Christians.
The Government of Egypt imposes a three-month state of emergency in response to the bombings.