2 Egyptian Christians murdered in spate of sectarian attacks in North Sinai

Two Coptic Christians were killed by armed militants in North Sinai this week, the latest in a string of sectarian attacks in the Peninsula.

MP Hossam al-Rifai identified the deceased as Saad al-Hakim and his son Medhat.

There has been a series of deadly sectarian attacks in the last few weeks in North Sinai, including the murder of Bahgat William on February 12 outside his pharmacy in Arish, and of another Coptic man Adel Shawki in Samaran neighborhood, also in Arish. Just a few days later, on February 15, another Christian man, Gamal Tawfik, was killed by gunmen in a crowded marketplace in Arish.

In late January, Coptic shopkeeper Wael Youssef was shot dead in his shop in Arish commercial center.

This spate of attacks on Christians in Sinai has coincided with the release of a video attributed to an Islamic State-affiliated group that includes a confession by the alleged suicide bomber who blew himself up at St. Peter and St. Paul Church in Cairo in December.

Ishaq Ibrahim, who works on religious freedoms at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, said Wednesday’s attack is the fifth sectarian incident in the last couple of months in Sinai, killing six Christians.

The recurrence of such deadly attacks has led a number of Coptic Christians to abandon their homes and jobs in North Sinai, according to Ibrahim, who adds that there seems to have been little reaction or concern from state institutions.