CAIRO: Egyptian prosecutors Tuesday referred a man to trial for allegedly stabbing to death a Coptic Christian priest in an attack that shocked the Arab World’s most populous country.
The public prosecution said in a statement the suspect was accused of killing the priest earlier this month at the popular seaside promenade in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria. He was also accused of illegal possession of a knife used in the attack, it said.
No date was set for the trial . The suspect could face a death sentence if convicted.
The Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria identified the priest as Arsanious Wadid, 56, who served at a local parish.
Sectarian violence is not uncommon in Egypt. Islamic extremists have also targeted Christians in recent years, especially following the 2013 military ouster of an Islamist but elected president amid mass protests against his divisive rule.
In September 2017, an alleged Daesh supporter stabbed to death an 82-year-old Christian doctor in Cairo. He was sentenced to death the following year.
Egypt’s Copts, the Middle East’s largest Christian community, have repeatedly complained of discrimination. They account for about 10 percent of Egypt’s over 103 million people.
Egypt refers man accused of killing Coptic priest to trial
https://arab.news/rgztg
Egypt refers man accused of killing Coptic priest to trial
- The suspect was accused of killing the priest earlier this month
- No date was set for the trial
Syrian government announces ceasefire in Aleppo
- Syrian government forces have been fighting the Kurdish-led SDF force in Aleppo, where at least 21 people have been killed in several days of clashes
DAMASCUS: Damascus: Syria’s defense ministry announced a ceasefire in several neighborhoods of Aleppo on Friday after days of deadly clashes with Kurdish fighters.
“To prevent any slide toward a new military escalation within residential neighborhoods, the Ministry of Defense announces ... a ceasefire in the vicinity of the Sheikh Maqsoud, Alashrafieh, and Bani Zeid neighborhoods of Aleppo, effective from 3:00 am,” the ministry wrote in a statement.
Syrian government forces have been fighting the Kurdish-led SDF force in Aleppo, where at least 21 people have been killed in several days of clashes.
Both sides have traded blame over who started the clashes on Tuesday, which comes as implementation stalls on a deal to merge the Kurds’ administration and military into the government.
The worst violence in Aleppo since Syria’s Islamist authorities took power has also highlighted regional tensions between Damascus ally Turkiye and Israel, which condemned what it described as attacks against the Kurds.
