Copts who fled homes in Sinai await “return signal” from authorities: Bishop

CAIRO- 16 April: Egyptian Christians who fled their homes in the troubled North Sinai governorate are awaiting a “return signal” from concerned authorities, Bishop of North Sinai Coptic Church said Sunday.

Bishop Qozman received a delegation of mourners at the headquarters of the diocese in el-Arish City, where he offered condolences for the victims of terrorism among Copts. The bishop expected an imminent return of the Christians to their homes.

Earlier this year, many Copts left their homes in the northern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, after members of their community were killed in Arish city by extremist groups. They went to Ismailia City, north-eastern Egypt.

Security authorities in cooperation with the Angelican community had helped around 40 Copts to relocate in Ismailia through providing them with homes and good livelihoods.

Last February, the Angelican community condemned criminal acts against citizens, especially Christians in Arish, after at least seven were killed.

Ismailia Governor Yassin Taher previously said that the families who came to Ismailia are not considered forcibly displaced, “but were invited by both the church and the governorate, following the terrorist incidents in Arish…and this to guarantee their safety from any terrorist incidents they might be exposed to.”

Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (ABM), a Sinai-based extremist group designated as a terrorist group, has claimed responsibility for many attacks targeting police and army. In 2014, the ABM group pledged allegiance to the terrorist Islamic State (IS) group, which is currently battling to keep its grip on swaths in Iraq and Syria.

On 9 April, which marked Palm Sunday, the IS group claimed responsibility for deadly bomb attacks that targeted two Egyptian churches in Tanta and Alexandria, leaving at least 45 dead and more than 100 injured. The attacks were strongly condemned worldwide, with state leaders showing solidarity with Egyptians in their fight against terrorism.

Over the past years, the Egyptian military launched a massive crackdown on terrorist groups that have mounted attacks, mainly against police and army, since the 2013 ouster of president Mohamed Morsi.

Churches across Egypt held Easter services Saturday, but all celebrations have been cancelled in mourning for the Palm Sunday victims.