الأحد، 31 مارس 2013

#libya Christian community nervous on Easter weekend

Recent attacks on Christian churches across Libya have placed fear in the community during their holy season of Easter, causing tightened security to avoid any Islamist assaults.
The doors of the Christ the King Church in Tripoli’s Old Town will be closed during services, Reverend Vasihar Baskaran, vicar at the Anglican church, said in an interview. In previous years they were left open, with people free to come and go, he said.
“I thought it was better not to attract the attention of bad elements. I told the congregation: when the service is finished, don’t stand in the churchyard and drink tea and have fun, just go home.”
Further east, the Vatican closed the Congregation of the Holy Family of Sapoleto, a 100-year-old monastery on the coast at Derna, and evacuated the Franciscan Sisters of the Child Jesus convent at nearby Barca.
At the turn of new year, Dafniya’s Coptic church was bombed, killing two and leaving many others injured. 48 Egyptian Copt Christians were arrested on March 1 accused of evangelism. One person died in custody, ultimately souring the situation. Protests went forth in Cairo, while Islamists replied by burning the Coptic Church in Benghazi on March 14. Tripoli’s Coptic church has a 24-hour police guard; the Greek Orthodox church has closed, its priest returning to Greece after he was shot at outside his home.
libya tv

ليست هناك تعليقات:

إرسال تعليق