THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Dozens of grieving Egyptian Christians attended Sunday Mass at the Saints Church in Alexandria guard where 21 worshippers were killed in an apparent suicide bombing.
Riot police in armoured vehicles were deployed outside the blood-spattered church as Egyptian newspapers warned that "civil war" could break out unless Christians and Muslims close ranks after a deadly attack on a Coptic church that triggered angry protests.
The authorities said that a suicide bomber blew himself up outside Al-Qiddissin church in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria early on New Year's Day, killing 21 people and wounding 79 others.
The service was marked by the grief and anger felt by a congregation devastated by the attack, which took place Saturday outside the church's door about 30 minutes into the New Year.
Many sobbed while others cried hysterically, screamed in anger or slapped themselves. "They died, they died," a woman kept saying.
Some lamented that attacks on Christians and churches often happen during usually happy occasions like Christmas and New Year. Others complained that the government was not doing enough to protect churches. >>> Telegraph’s Foreign Staff | Sunday, January 02, 2011
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LE TEMPS: Solitude et douleur des Coptes, après l’attentat : Les Coptes pleurent les 21 victimes de l’attentat de la nuit du Réveillon à Alexandrie, alors que les condamnations continuent d’affluer >>> AFP | Dimanche 02 Janvier 2011
