Families of victims of Sunday’s bombing at Alexandria’s Coptic cathedral gathered at the Monastery of Saint Mina under heavy security on Monday as Egypt’s cabinet approved a three-month state of emergency ahead of a scheduled trip by Pope Francis.
Hundreds of mourners, many outraged by what they said was the state’s failure to keep them safe on one of their holiest days, carried wooden coffins to the beat of drums interrupted by the wails of those dressed in all black.
“Where should we go pray? They are attacking us in our churches. They don’t want us to pray but we will pray,” said Samira Adly, 53, whose neighbors were killed in the attack, reports Reuters.
“Everyone is falling short…the government, the people… nothing is good.”
The blast in Egypt’s second largest city, which killed 17 including 7 police officers, came hours after a bomb struck a Coptic church in Tanta, a nearby city in the Nile Delta, that took the lives of 28 and wounded nearly 80.
The twin attacks marked one of the bloodiest days in recent memory for Egypt’s Christian minority,the largest in the Middle East.
Both attacks were claimed by the Islamic State, which has waged a campaign against Egypt’s Christian minority. The Copts, whose presence in Egypt dates to the Roman era, have long complained of religious persecution and accused the state of not doing enough to protect them.
Coming on Palm Sunday, when Christians mark the arrival of Jesus in Jerusalem, the bombings appeared designed to spread fear among the Coptic minority.
“We shouldn’t stay quiet at all…it is a security failure..how did the bomb enter when there’s security outside the church? They’re saying now the metal detector wasn’t working,” Beshoy Asham, a cousin of a Tanta victim told Reuters.
The attacks also raised security fears ahead of a visit to Cairo by Roman Catholic Pope Francis planned for April 28-29 intended to promote interfaith dialogue between Muslims and Christians.
